Steve Brandt and his brokerage team at Brandt Retail Group know retail: the shoppers, the retailers, the landlords and the economic impact of high functioning commercial districts. For 30 years the Brandt team has specialized in suburban shopping centers, bringing their expertise to greenbelt retail developments in Ohio and Kentucky. Now Brandt is adding Urban specialist Kathleen Norris to the team and planning to bring that same retail know-how to city centers and neighborhoods on both sides of the Ohio River.

“Downtown Cincinnati is the heart of this region. It deserves a bold urban vision,” said Brandt CEO, Steve Brandt. “And both within this area and beyond there are neighborhoods, cities and towns where Main Street retail is a crucial economic engine – an engine that we know how to fine-tune.”.

“We are specialists in how to create a successful retail destination, how to recruit the right retailers and restaurants and persuade them of the merits of location, how to best represent the interests of all parties. As this division’s first project, we’re eager to help present the downtown Cincinnati retail market on a grand scale, and contribute to making our hometown a sustainable, livable, walkable city.”

To kick-start this new division, Brandt has recruited Kathleen Norris to become Director of Urban Leasing. Norris’ recent successes include bringing more than 20 new businesses to Over-the-Rhine in the past two years, as well as consulting and recruiting for other urban neighborhoods.

“There’s been a tremendous resurgence of downtown housing and new restaurants, but retail growth doesn’t appear to be keeping pace,” Norris said. “Both the need and the opportunity are there. We’re going to look at how to best support the shopping needs of both occasional visitors and the weekday population, offering special shops and merchandise not available elsewhere. We’re also going to work hard to create opportunities for local retailers to build businesses that will grow and perhaps even become regional and national players through access to the network Brandt can provide.

Brandt Retail Group Senior Vice President, Dave Sheehy, echoes this sentiment with his work to bring new restaurants to downtown that are unique to the city, such as his past deals with Boi Na Braza Brazilian Steak and the Oceanaire Seafood Room. He is working to continue this trend with his recent listing of several restaurant spaces in the city’s newest landmark building, Queen City Square, currently under construction.

“Cincinnati is THE consumer-products capital of the United States. We have tremendous talent here. Let’s create a showcase for our own creative class, and a downtown that offers the best of shopping and dining,” Norris said.

Joining Norris as associate and Research Director of the urban division will be Doug Brandt, son of the Brandt CEO. “I want Downtown Cincinnati to be a hip, unique place,” he said. “I’m excited to be in the hunt for retailers, stores and restaurants that are special and unique in this market. I want my city to be progressive and appealing to tomorrow’s leaders.”

Steve Brandt formed Brandt Retail Group in the late 199o’s after working many years at Midwest-based retail brokerages. His firm works extensively in suburban markets throughout Ohio and Kentucky. A team of eight experienced agents represents brands such as IKEA, Target, Home Depot, TJX Companies, Darden Restaurants, Trader Joe’s, Costco, Dollar Tree, Game Stop and LA Fitness.

“Cincinnati deserves a bold urban vision,” he said. “We have a wide network of contacts which includes not only retailers and property owners, but also colleagues in other cities, including those who specialize in urban retail brokerage services. Our current team is building relationships all the time with some of the most desirable tenants in the country. Kathleen joins us to bring us in another entire set of possibilities including some of the best independent retailers in this area, many of whom she has worked with and gotten to know. That’s a great platform on which to build this new initiative. She and Doug will start immediately by talking to downtown property owners, elected officials, the neighborhood associations, prospective tenants and anybody else who understands the role that retailers and restaurants play in the success of a great city.”

“Their first step is consultative – what do we want downtown to be and can we help make that happen,” Steve Brandt said. “But if we begin with the end in mind, it’s pretty simple: bringing new tenants to presently empty storefronts, creating shopping opportunities for downtown workers and visitors, helping to build successful businesses and a vibrant center city. We think we can make a unique contribution and we’re looking forward to it.”

About Kathleen Norris:
Kathleen Norris is a specialist in urban retail leasing. As a Leasing Consultant for the Gateway Quarter, she developed the concept for a new destination retail center, recruiting more than 20 retailers and restaurant operators to her corner of Over-The-Rhine over a two-year period. Ms. Norris contributed to the creation of one of the most popular new shopping and dining destinations in Downtown Cincinnati with the Gateway Quarter. She has also recruited tenants as a consultant for Downtown Cincinnati, DeSales Corner and other urban Cincinnati neighborhoods. At Brandt Urban Retail, she is vice president and director.

Ms. Norris has worked with a broad range of developers, government agencies and clients such as Urban Sites, The Northpointe Group, Model Management, The National Geographic Society, The Cincinnati Empowerment Corp., CrimeStoppers, The Australian Ministry for Tourism, The Commonwealth Games and State University of New York.

A native Cincinnatian and fourth-generation real estate professional, Ms. Norris wrote a weekly column for the Cincinnati Business Courier for four years, profiling more than 150 Greater Cincinnati philanthropists. Prior to becoming a Realtor and consultant, she was an arts industry executive serving as CEO of performing arts companies in Cincinnati, New York and Sydney, Australia.

About Doug Brandt:
Doug Brandt is a passionate advocate of Cincinnati, currently active in Mayor Mallory’s Young Professional Kitchen Cabinet, the Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce’s Agenda 360 and Cincinnatians for Progress. As Brandt Urban Division Associate and Research Director, he will play a key role in recruiting both landlords and tenants, managing client relationships and developing prospects for the urban market. A graduate of the Slippery Rock University in Pennsylvania, Doug has a bachelor’s degree in Marketing and Business Management.