Professionals

Nick Banks is a principal and managing director with Avison Young and responsible for overseeing the firm’s activities in North Florida. Prior to joining Avison Young in 2019, Nick ran Front Street Commercial Real Estate Group, which he founded in 2002 while living in South Florida. He spent the first eight years developing and acquiring office and retail projects in South Florida as well as North Central Florida. He relocated to Gainesville in 2004, and in 2010 shifted the focus of the firm to primarily serve third party clients and perform brokerage, property management, and commercial insurance services. Within nine years, Nick led the firm’s growth to a team of over 30 professionals doing business in six North Florida markets. Nick has fostered relationships with several large clients including Regency, Kite, RMR Group, The University of Florida, UF Health, Santa Fe College, City of Gainesville, RD Management, and Hankin Group.

Prior to founding Front Street, Nick was the Director of Finance and Dispositions for Stiles Corporation in Fort Lauderdale, where he financed and sold over $500 million in commercial real estate. Before joining Stiles, Nick was an Associate Director at GE Capital Real Estate, where he sourced over $200 million in financing throughout Florida.

Nick is a graduate of the University of Florida with a degree in Finance and a concentration in Real Estate.  He recently served as the board chair for the United Way of North Central Florida and is actively involved with the Gainesville Area Chamber of Commerce, where he serves as a member of the executive board and as a member of the Business Development Committee. In 2018, Nick became a member of the national board of directors for the University of Florida Foundation. He is a graduate of Leadership Gainesville, which is a year-long leadership program hosted by the Chamber.  Nick serves as an advisory board member of the University of Florida Bergstrom Center for Real Estate Studies, where he is also a member of the executive board. He is a frequent guest speaker at student events in which he also acts as a mentor. Nick also serves as a fiduciary board member for Citizens State Bank, a local community bank. He is involved in several commercial real estate industry organizations, including the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC), where he has been a frequent panelist, and he was also the founding co-chair of the Gainesville committee for the North Florida chapter of Urban Land Institute (ULI).