Cushman & Wakefield expanded its Miami property management arm with the hiring of 32 employees from competitor JLL.

The Chicago-based commercial real estate firm tapped the team that’s been managing Nuveen Real Estate’s 701 Brickell office tower and Waterford Business District, essentially putting both assets into Cushman’s property management portfolio, according to a news release.

Amarjit “Marj” Bains, who leads the newly hired team, will work alongside Leigh Griffin, who heads Cushman’s Florida Property Management group. The group consists of 300 professionals and oversees 85 million square feet of real estate.

Nuveen owns the 33-story, 685,544-square-foot building at 701 Brickell Avenue in Miami, as well as about 1.7 million square feet of the Waterford Business District in unincorporated Miami-Dade County.

The entire Waterford District spans roughly 3 million square feet, across the Dolphin Expressway from Miami International Airport.

Both properties have benefited from active South Florida leasing activity, with 701 Brickell gaining an influx of financial firms.
Late last year, New York City-based alternative asset manager Apollo Capital Management leased 24,000 square feet at the tower, bringing it to 96 percent occupancy. Other tenants include Point72, Moore Capital and Manhattan Life.

At Waterford, New York City-based fintech Finsight Group took 3,122 square feet in June at the 800 Waterford Way building at 800 Northwest 62nd Avenue.

Nuveen, which is the investment arm of TIAA, paid $172 million for 701 Brickell in 2002, property records show.