Norris, Beggs & Simpson Celebrates 75th Anniversary

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This April 1, Norris, Beggs & Simpson, Portland’s oldest locally-owned commercial real estate firm, celebrates its 75th anniversary. Established in the midst of the Great Depression, the company has successfully grown into a multimillion-dollar enterprise by evolving with an ever-changing business environment. The firm’s expansion resulted from capitalizing on new opportunities, such as entering new markets or broadening its range of services and expertise.

“Commercial Real Estate Appreciation Day” Celebrated
In honor of Norris, Beggs & Simpson’s milestone year, Portland mayor Tom Potter has proclaimed Monday, April 2, as Commercial Real Estate Appreciation Day. In addition to commemorating the firm’s success over the years, the day offers an opportunity to observe the commercial real estate industry’s contributions to the viability of our communities.

The firm will celebrate its 75th by hosting several events throughout 2007 and 2008.  The events include a kick-off anniversary party in April, a speaking event with a national guest speaker, and sponsorship in the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties’ (NAIOP) Pacific Northwest Real Estate Challenge. This last event is held in Seattle and invites several Pacific Northwest universities, including Portland State University, to compete in presenting a development proposal for a multi-faceted and complex real-world real estate project. Additionally, the firm will be holding several employee events to celebrate the people that have defined the firm as it stands today.

The industry’s management and maintenance of structures in which we work, live and play is only a part of its impact on society. Commercial real estate owners and managers also contribute significantly to local tax revenues, including dollars that support schools and social services, and to the employment picture, generating jobs within the industry and among sectors that serve it. Norris, Beggs & Simpson has spent three-quarters of a century contributing to the communities it serves, while also navigating changing markets to become a leader locally, regionally and globally.

A Brief History
In 1932, the company opened its doors as Norris, Beggs & Simpson in a small office in the Wilcox Building, which still stands today at the corner of SW 6th Avenue and Washington Street in downtown Portland. The original founders were A.D. Norris and George J. Beggs, executives at a mortgage company, Commonwealth, Inc. and David B. Simpson.

With the country mired in depression, few areas of the economy were left unscathed. Although the real estate industry suffered, Norris, Beggs & Simpson quickly became profitable by specializing in property management and acquiring as clients, many prominent families of the Pacific Northwest.

New England Mutual Life Insurance Company of Boston also played a key role in the growth of Norris, Beggs & Simpson, by enlisting the company to manage a series of foreclosed properties in Portland and appointing the company as its mortgage loan correspondent in the area. In 1935, the company opened a San Francisco office to further service the New England account. Commercial and industrial brokerage services were also added to expand the company’s reach, and an emphasis was placed on involvement with major financial institutions.

NAI Norris, Beggs & Simpson in the Now
Today, Norris, Beggs & Simpson serves clients locally and regionally with offices strategically placed in Portland, Oregon, and Seattle and Vancouver, Washington. In addition, the company serves clients globally. As the parent company, Norris, Beggs & Simpson Companies consists of three distinct entities working in tandem, each with their own strategic partnerships:

• NAI Norris, Beggs & Simpson consists of property management and brokerage operations. An alliance with NAI Global, the world’s largest managed commercial real estate network, has enabled the company to effectively and efficiently assist clients with their real estate needs anywhere in the world.

• Norris, Beggs & Simpson Financial Services involves exclusive correspondent relationships, which provide access to billions of dollars for clients’ borrowing and investment requirements; an affiliation with Strategic Alliance Mortgage enables the company to offer financial solutions to clients nationwide.

• NBS Real Estate Capital is a boutique investment management firm that provides equity, preferred equity and mezzanine debt capital to real estate investors and developers in the western United States. As the discretionary manager of Morrison Street Funds, the firm places investment capital on behalf of pension funds, foundations, trusts, and high net worth individuals and families.

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