Brian Dembeck has been named permanent executive director of the Johns Hopkins Office of Real Estate, effective Dec. 1.

Dembeck, who had been acting as interim executive director since April, said he will continue his current charge, which is to head the office that handles development of real estate projects, leasing of space, and sales and purchases of real estate for both the university and Johns Hopkins Health System.

Brian Dembeck

James T. McGill, senior vice president for finance and administration, said that Dembeck is a "thorough real estate professional" and the right person for the demanding position.

"Brian fully understands the financing of real estate, how to negotiate real estate deals and the development of space," said McGill, who announced the appointment. "He also has high standards for performance, is service-oriented to his customer base and is very well-respected within the real estate community."

The Office of Real Estate was established in late 2000, merging previously separate real estate operations around the university and health system.

Dembeck said, "Hopkins has an insatiable appetite for space. This office's job is to ensure that we provide our clients with the best space at the lowest possible price."

As for current undertakings, Dembeck said his plate is full. Specifically, he cited the pending leasing agreements for 50,000 square feet of space to be used by nonclinical offices of Johns Hopkins Medicine; tenant renovations for the Baltimore Development Corp. at the Johns Hopkins at Eastern campus; the $25.5 million renovation of 110,000 square feet in the Center Tower of the Mason F. Lord Building at Bayview Medical Center; the development of a third building on the Montgomery County Campus; and the development of a Charles Village project near the Homewood campus that will include the Johns Hopkins bookstore, student housing and additional retail components.

In total, Hopkins currently owns or leases in excess of 1.5 million square feet of space, and McGill said the demand for space at Hopkins is as great as it has ever been.

"In the past several years, we have leased a substantial amount of off-campus space, and that activity will certainly continue," McGill said. "We simply don't have enough space on our campuses to grow, so the search for off-campus space is a high priority right now. In addition, we need to focus on development of on-campus properties so that we get the most value out of them for both Hopkins and non-Hopkins tenants. Brian will help Hopkins meet its pressing real estate needs."

Dembeck is also president of Dome Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of the university and health system. Since 1988, he has served in various capacities within the Johns Hopkins Institutions. From 1988 to 1991, he was controller of Dome Corp. From 1991 through 2001, he was Dome's vice president for finance and administration, and was responsible for all financial aspects of a company with more than $50 million in annual revenues. Over those 10 years, he was responsible for capital financing with an aggregate value in excess of $180 million.

Ron Peterson, president of Johns Hopkins Health System and chairman of Dome Corp., said that he has thoroughly enjoyed working with Brian Dembeck for the last 14 years.

"Brian is a consummate executive with unique skills in managing complex real estate financings, great interpersonal skills and strong negotiation techniques," Peterson said. "The Health System will be well served by Brian as executive director of the Johns Hopkins Office of Real Estate."

Before joining Johns Hopkins in 1988, Dembeck was the accounting manager for American Trading Real Estate Co., where he was responsible for all day-to-day accounting operations.

Dembeck graduated from the University of Baltimore in 1975 with a bachelor's degree in accounting.