Baker Tilly Sponsors TrendLines 2011
Industry Leader Greg Leisch Proclaimed 2011 To Be a Year of "Accelerating From Recovery to Expansion"

February 11, 2011

WASHINGTON, DC – Baker Tilly was once again a title sponsor TrendLines, the Washington region’s leading annual gathering of real estate executives. This year’s event was held Thursday, February 10th at the Ronald Reagan Building & International Trade Center, with Chief Executive Greg Leisch of Delta Associates delivering his annual forecast of the region’s real estate market.

Leisch detailed how the DC region continued to be "recession resistant" in 2010. He also pointed out how the area continued to be the highest-educated region in the country, which directly correlates to the creation of new jobs, new companies, and an increase in real estate values. Leisch concluded that the opportunities in this market for 2011 were to lock in leverage before interest rates rise any further and to invest in distressed real estate if possible.

View Leisch’s annual forecast of the Washington DC real estate market >

Baker Tilly Partner Kelly Toole, head of the firm’s East Region Real Estate practice, presented the 2011 Public Sector TrendSetter Award to Elizabeth Price, the President of the NoMa Business Improvement District. Price led a transformation of the area just north of Union Station into the region’s fastest growing urban neighborhood. First Potomac Realty Trust Chairman and CEO Doug Donatelli was also recognized with the Private Sector TrendSetter Award.

"Baker Tilly is pleased to be involved with such a great event," Toole said. "TrendLines is a gathering of the most prominent executives in the industry, and we are happy to support such an interesting and informative forum."

The event drew more than 1,000 attendees and continues to be one of the most prominent annual real estate events in Washington, DC.

About Baker Tilly
With staff totaling more than 1,350, Baker Tilly provides a wide range of accounting, tax, assurance, and consulting services. Ranked as the 13th largest* firm in the country, Baker Tilly serves clients from offices in Chicago, Detroit, Minneapolis, New York, Washington DC, and throughout Wisconsin.

Baker Tilly is a member of Baker Tilly International, a worldwide network of 147 high quality, independent accounting and business advisory firms in 114 countries, with more than 25,000 professionals. The combined worldwide revenue of independent member firms exceeds $3 billion.

About Trendlines
TrendLines® is a state of the commercial real estate market overview and forecast presentation and report produced by Delta Associates, the leading source of real estate market data in the Washington region, and Transwestern, the region’s preeminent commercial real estate firm. Sponsored by PNC and Baker Tilly, its purposes are to distill the trends of the year just completed and to shed light on the pivotal forces that we believe will affect the region’s commercial real estate in the year ahead.

SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR ALL MINNESOTA MEDIA OUTLETS ONLY:
All company references to Baker Tilly in this press release must be listed as Baker Tilly Virchow Krause, LLP. No shortened version of the company name is permitted.

All references to Baker Tilly International do not require modification.

*According to the 2010 Accounting Today "Top 100 Firms"