New York, NY — Alvarez & Marsal Property Solutions (AMPS), a full service commercial real estate advisory firm recently launched by Alvarez & Marsal, Inc., has named Peter Kontos, AIA, and Kevin Halm Directors of the firm’s project management and property management service lines. Senior Project Manager J.T. Garofalo will work closely with Kontos as part of AMPS’s senior project management staff.

“We are excited to begin this new venture at AMPS that will build on our team’s more than 35 years combined experience in the real estate, architecture, interior design and construction industries,” said Kontos. “Acting as an extension of our clients’ team and prioritizing flexibility and attention-to-detail, we foster a cohesive process to management assignments. This ensures that clients see thorough and successful results, giving them more time to focus on navigating and growing the success of their own business.”

AMPS provides data-driven real estate services on a local, regional and national level to owners and occupiers of space. The firm’s suite of project management services can support clients with any asset, at any stage of a project through pre-lease to planning to design and construction. AMPS has extensive experience in developing and coordinating project schedules, scopes, budgets and cost assumptions, as well as in overseeing extended teams of consultants, contractors and vendors.

AMPS is an affiliate of Alvarez Marsal Property Investments (AMPI), a commercial real estate investment firm founded in 2013 by Victor Alvarez, Michael Marsal and Grant Schoenthaler. Before working with independent owners, AMPS’s property management team focused services on AMPI’s more than 1.5 million-square-foot portfolio. AMPS’s property management team partners with owners who share AMPS and AMPI’s vision for high quality property management services, which emphasize responsiveness, transparency and fostering long-term relationships with tenants and the broader community.

“Having grown out of a boutique real estate investment firm, our property management team understands how ownership makes decisions and the various demands and challenges they face,” said Halm. “Regardless of the size, quality or location of buildings, AMPS prioritizes our clients’ perspective and long-term goals for assets, aligning their strategy with our management platform.”

Peter Kontos comes to AMPS from AMPI, which he joined in 2019 to oversee project management and design services across the firm’s portfolio of office and mixed-use assets. At AMPI he executed a wide range of projects including common area repositioning at 1320 West Fulton Street and the Pontiac Building, as well as implementation of the hospitality and retail experience at 205 West Wacker that was home to the popular food hall, Wells Street Market. Immediately before joining AMPI, Kontos was a Director and spent over 12 years at the Chicago-based architecture and planning firm Partners by Design. Over the course of his career, Kontos has successfully executed projects on behalf of PayPal, Centro, Trustwave and dozens of other landlords and tenants.

Kevin Halm directed property management at AMPI from 2016 to 2021 and will now lead the property management services offered to independent owners by AMPS. Halm has demonstrated the ability to implement successful asset management strategies on behalf of building owners and stakeholders throughout his career. Prior to joining AMPI, Halm spent 9 years with CBRE where he was property manager for several strategic client accounts. Halm has also guided property management from an in-house role for a nationally recognized post-secondary education firm, where he oversaw facilities management nationally and had key roles in leasing and construction management.

Senior Project Manager J.T. Garofalo, who has previously held senior project management roles with Tishman Speyer, Stantec Architecture and CBRE, will work closely with Kontos. Among several high-profile assignments over the course of his career, Garofalo co-led the project management team that relocated Motorola Mobility’s R&D facility to Chicago’s iconic Merchandise Mart and provided project management services to over $100 million in corporate projects for CBRE between 2012 and 2017. He has also been responsible for large-scale corporate furniture procurements for major occupiers.

“Professionalism, responsiveness and attention-to-detail are essential to building long-term relationships within this industry,” Garofalo said. “Each member of the team assembled at AMPS has demonstrated these values throughout his and her career, and I am excited to join this venture.”

Among other active projects, AMPS is currently overseeing renovations and new furnishings across more than 70,000 square feet at 1320 West Fulton in Chicago, Illinois; adaptive re-use and development of  The Franklin, a 98,000-square-foot mixed-use office and retail building in Portland, Oregon; as well as the luxury repositioning of a 65,000-square-foot hotel in New York’s Hudson Valley on behalf of a private developer. AMPS plans to announce additional client assignments and completed projects over the coming months. For more information on Alvarez & Marsal Property Solutions, please see: www.amp-solutions.com