Weitzman Expands Investments Platform

DALLAS— Weitzman, a leading retail-focused commercial real estate firm based in Texas, is significantly expanding its investment properties platform with a key new hire and the expansion of the firm’s equity fundraising, investor relations, investment strategy and deal sourcing. Joining Weitzman to manage its acquisitions activities as Executive Vice President | Managing Director of Acquisitions is Tim Baker, a retail and commercial real estate professional with extensive experience in the Dallas-Fort Worth shopping center industry. In this new position for the firm, Baker’s responsibilities include sourcing acquisition opportunities for existing properties in Dallas-Fort Worth and across the state’s major metro areas. Baker will collaborate on acquisitions with Ryan Stempf, Weitzman’s Chief Investment Relations Officer. Stempf’s focus complements Baker’s through his involvement with investor relations, fund raising and the formation of investment strategies. “Tim is a powerful addition to our team, and in his new role and in working with Ryan Stempf’s investor sourcing, he will be instrumental in our growth across the state,” said Marshall Mills, president and CEO of Weitzman. “We have developed a substantial group of investors looking to place capital in retail real estate with us, and we are also in dialogue with several institutional groups. We continue to target two main buckets of deals: grocery-anchored centers and well-located, shadow-anchored neighborhood strip centers.” Prior to joining Weitzman, Baker served as Senior Vice President of Real Estate and Development for the Pittsburgh-based retailer, Giant Eagle. While there, he led an interdisciplinary team responsible for all aspects of real estate, construction, design, asset management and related duties for the privately held, nearly 500-store grocery and convenience chain. His retail real estate background also includes Albertsons Companies, where as a Regional Vice President he handled real estate duties for a 1,000-plus store territory that included Texas and approximately two dozen other states. He also has senior-level real estate experience with both Safeway (Tom Thumb, Randalls, etc.) and Walmart across numerous states and countries. At Walmart, as Senior Real Estate Manager, Baker was responsible for market strategy and direct purchase/lease negotiations, as well as development at a time when the company was rolling out its Supercenter concept in D-FW. Baker also has experience with all aspects of real estate investment, including deal sourcing, property acquisitions, asset management and disposition. Stempf has a diverse understanding of retail, multifamily, industrial and office properties across numerous markets within the United States. Over his career, he has acquired more than $400 million worth of properties, asset managed projects worth over $1.1 billion and was involved in the sale of properties with a combined value of over half a billion dollars. Baker is a member of the International Council of Shopping Centers and the North Texas Commercial Association of Realtors.