A veteran broker with extensive experience in Long Island City and Astoria has been hired to head up the first commercial division of Queens-centric real estate services firm Modern Spaces, according to an announcement from the firm’s founder and CEO Eric Benaim.
Modern Spaces, which until now focused on residential deals exclusively, started the Commercial & Investment Property division about a month ago.
Evan Daniel, who has focused on Long Island City and Astoria for Massey Knakal for the past nine years, will be heading up the new office. Currently, the commercial branch of the company consists of three people, including Daniel. By the end of next year, Daniel hopes to have between eight and 10 brokers working for the division.
Daniel, who came into the company as executive vice president, said he will be using his experience from nearly a decade at Massey Knakal, where brokers become experts on their neighborhoods, he said.
The commercial division will also handle retail leasing, Daniel said.
The division is intended to augment the firm’s established residential brokerage operation, which serves consumers of rental and for-sale properties, in addition to the Modern Spaces Development Marketing Group, which represents developers and sponsors of property, according to the company’s announcement.
Daniel said he hopes to grow and expand the division to other boroughs. — Claire Moses