Real estate services firm Jones Lang LaSalle is expanding its Minneapolis office.

The Chicago-based company is broadening its platform of services to include — for the first time — office and industrial property management in the Twin Cities. And two people have joined that staff to marshal the new assignment.

Todd Balsiger, a commercial property management veteran with 17 years of experience, will serve as the firm's new Minneapolis group manager. Balsiger has managed a variety of suburban assets in the Twin Cities, including a 22-building, 2.3 million-square-foot portfolio at his previous post. He's also a past president of the Institute of Real Estate Management's local chapter.

Deanna Kalkman, who has five years of industry experience, was hired as assistant general manager.

The division is off to a brisk start. Dallas-based ORIX Capital Markets LLC has named Jones Lang LaSalle to manage six buildings totalling more than 415,000 square feet. They include: One Corporate Center IV, a 112,000-square-foot office building in Edina; Bell Tower, a 71,528-square-foot office building, and an adjacent 68,000-square-foot warehouse, both on Broadway St. W. in Osseo; and the three-building, 164,000-square-foot Five Star Commerce Center industrial park in Maple Grove.

ORIX has also tapped Jones Lang LaSalle to serve as leasing agent for the properties.

Jones Lang LaSalle employs 200 commercial real estate professionals in the Twin Cities. The firm serves as property manager for Calhoun Square in Uptown and Rosedale Center in Roseville, and is leasing agent for the RBC Plaza, Plaza Seven and 33 South Sixth office towers. In August, the firm was selected by the Ramsey County Regional Rail Authority to provide property management and leasing services at the St. Paul Union Depot train station, which is undergoing massive renovation.

Janet Moore covers commercial real estate for the Star Tribune.