Franklin Street, a full-service commercial real estate company, continues its aggressive growth with the hiring of longtime JLL executive Kurt Keaton. After 16 years with JLL, Keaton leaves to take on the role as president of Franklin Street Real Estate and Management Services. Based in Franklin Street’s Tampa office, Keaton is in charge of growing these divisions and leading the continued development of each business line in alignment with the company’s core values – Collaboration, Integrity, Hard Work and Accountability – and overall business strategy. Known and highly respected throughout the real estate industry, Keaton’s leadership will bolster Franklin Street’s continued growth across service lines and expansion into new markets throughout the US.
Prior to joining Franklin Street, Keaton served as managing director at JLL responsible for delivering the national investor suite platform to owner clients across the US markets, including property management, project management, agency leasing and investment sales. Previously, Keaton was JLL’s market director for Florida, monitoring the profit and loss of the entire company’s brokerage, property management and project management operations across the state.
“The addition of Kurt Keaton is a major step for our company,” said Franklin Street CEO and managing partner Andrew Wright. “We are thrilled to have someone with Kurt’s experience and industry knowledge on board to help lead these divisions. His dedication to teamwork and background in the Air Force solidifies his belief in our core values and I’m looking forward to having him as an integral part of our team.”
Under Keaton’s leadership, JLL quadrupled its investor client portfolio to more than 30 million square feet throughout Florida. He has been twice named as one of JLL’s “Top Guns” and is a two-time winner of the JLL Club Award and Management Excellence Award.
“Franklin Street is well-positioned to continue its development with an integrated service model for its clients and tenants,” Keaton said. “I was especially drawn to the company’s culture and people-first mentality. The core values are not just words on a wall – everyone truly believes them and conducts their business by those values.”
Keaton earned his Bachelor of Science in General Engineering from the United States Air Force Academy, where he played intercollegiate football and served as a squadron commander. He received his Master’s in Commercial Properties (MICP) designation from the Lipsey School of Real Estate Institute and maintains an active real estate license.
Keaton joins a growing roster of commercial real estate executives joining Franklin Street, including Chris Butler and Chad Rupp who now lead Franklin Street’s Office and Industrial Services division. Butler and Rupp both worked closely with Keaton at JLL while he served as JLL’s market director for Florida.
About Franklin Street: Franklin Street is a family of full-service real estate companies focused on delivering value-added solutions to meet the evolving needs of clients. Through a collaborative philosophy of leveraging the resources, expertise, and experience of each of its divisions—Real Estate, Capital, Insurance, Management and Valuation—Franklin Street offers unmatched value and optimal solutions for clients nationwide. For more information on Franklin Street, please visit FranklinSt.com.
