A new commercial real estate company has arrived on the Eastern Shore.

Several top producing leaders have joined forces to open NAI Coastal, a new brokerage under the umbrella of NAI Global. With more than 375 offices and 6,000 professionals, NAI Global generates $20 billion in gross annual revenue making them the fourth-largest commercial real estate brand worldwide and the highest-ranking platform in the region.

As the brand’s local affiliate, NAI Coastal brings 30 years of experience and more than $1 billion in gross revenues to the table.

The team of eight brings more than $200 million in active listings to the market and is positioned as a leader in off-market listings — providing market knowledge that serves investors with a leading edge over their competition.

Principals in the new company are Chris Davis, Bradley Gillis, Joey Gilkerson and Chris Gilkerson.

The partners are well known across Salisbury and up and down the Delmarva Peninsula for their success in brokerage volume, as well as their innovative and impactful construction and development efforts.

NAI Coastal has opened its offices on Pine Bluff Road in Salisbury.

“NAI Coastal provides our clients with a broad range of resources, including an expanded menu of services,” said Bradley Gillis.

“It’s important to recognize and serve the broader need of the client — beyond a transaction — our goal is to build authentic relationships based on trust, integrity, and results,” Gillis said.

Advisors Meredith Mears, Tori Brown, Christian Phillips, and George Merritt have also affiliated with NAI Coastal. This team will work to build the brokerage from the ground up.

“When our team provides services to clients, we take a different approach,” said Mears.

“Our service is based on our passion for the work and our commitment to driving business forward for those we work with,” she said. “We are all high energy, very driven, and the result is that we produce.”

NAI Coastal operates on a foundation of authenticity and collaboration with a universal commitment to a singular goal: exceeding expectations.

The team recognizes that the company’s success is contingent upon the success and prosperity of its clients and community.

NAI Coastal is dedicated to providing the highest level of service with a highly personal and unwavering commitment to excellence.

“Globally, NAI is known in our industry for its commitment to innovation, collaboration and precision,” said Chris Davis, “the individuals on our local team are known for the same.  It’s a recipe for success.”

Chris Davis

Chris Davis is a licensed Real Estate Broker in Maryland, Delaware and Florida who specializes in the sale of income producing investment properties in the self-storage, hospitality and industrial fields.

Davis’ primary market is the Delmarva region beginning east of the Chesapeake Bay and extending across Maryland, Delaware and Virginia to the Atlantic Ocean; however, he is knowledgeable in the Northeastern Florida market as well.

With more than 25 years of experience in the commercial real estate business, Davis has brokered over $800 million in volume. Before co-founding NAI Coastal, he brokered deals under the Long & Foster and SVN commercial platforms.

He has served on national self storage and hospitality product councils and was ranked in SVN International’s Top 10 advisors earning him the prestigious Partner’s Circle designation in 2015.

Over the course of his career, Chris spearheaded multiple development projects and owned Davis Properties Inc. and Davis Development Co.

Together these entities developed, owned and managed commercial properties such as: business/office parks, climate controlled self storage facilities, warehouse/manufacturing buildings, shopping centers, age restricted retirement communities and a large wedding and hospitality venue.

He is a graduate of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

Bradley Gillis

Brad Gillis is a Principal with NAI Coastal and Gillis Gilkerson Construction and Development Co. Gillis is known for consistently adding value to commercial real estate and has an extensive history of closing sale and lease deals across the Delmarva region.

He specializes in the sale and lease of medical and professional offices, industrial properties and income producing investments.

His group has brokered more than 350 commercial real estate transactions and participated in a volume exceeding $500 million in brokerage and development deals.

Before co-founding NAI Coastal in 2019, he was part of the SVN platform, where he was consistently ranked amongst the company’s top producers, internationally. Since the beginning of his real estate career in 2004, he has worked with several notable clients including Peninsula Regional Medical Center, Nanticoke Memorial Hospital, University of Maryland Medical System, Salisbury University Foundation,  Walgreens, CVS, Zoetis and Safran.

Gillis is a past President of the Salisbury Area Chamber of Commerce; to date, he is the youngest person to have served in this role as the Chamber’s President. He is also a member of the Salisbury Wicomico Economic Development, Greater Salisbury Committee, and serves on the Perdue School of Business Executive Council.

Gillis holds the commercial real estate industry’s most prestigious designation, Certified Commercial Investment Member.

He is a graduate of Hawaii Pacific University in Honolulu.

Joey Gilkerson

Joey Gilkerson is a Principal with NAI Coastal and Gillis Gilkerson Construction and Development Co. Involved in the brokerage and development aspects of the real estate industry for over a decade, his group has brokered real estate transactions exceeding $500 million in brokerage and development deals.

Joey Gilkerson specializes in buyer and tenant representation for office and industrial users in Delaware and on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.

In addition to brokerage activities, Joey Gilkerson leads the operations and portfolio management activities on behalf of the Gillis Gilkerson group.

He is a community advocate and an active member of several Downtown-related committees and serves on Wor-Wic Community College’s Foundation Board.

Formerly, Gilkerson served on the board for Habitat for Humanity as chair of the site selection committee in Wicomico County, and also as the Chair of the Young Professionals of the Salisbury Area Chamber of Commerce.

He is a graduate of Salisbury University. 

Chris Gilkerson

Chris Gilkerson is a Principal with NAI Coastal and Gillis Gilkerson Construction and Development Co. With more than 15 years of experience in development to the table, he has been part of the same group as Brad Gillis and Joey Gilkerson.

He is a licensed real estate professional, and represents buyers and tenants of industrial and office properties.

In addition to real estate sales and leasing, he has a commercial construction background and experience with multiple building and product types, including industrial, residential/multifamily, retail, and professional/medical office.

Chris Gilkerson has also overseen well over 1 million square feet of development projects, including the intricate redevelopment of several downtown buildings and the adaptive reuse redevelopment of two separate manufacturing facilities.

He is a graduate of Salisbury University.

Meredith Mears

Meredith Mears is a Licensed Real Estate Advisor with NAI Coastal and is the Chief Development Officer of Gillis Gilkerson Construction and Development.

Working in economic and real estate development for more than 18 years, Mears is heavily experienced in senior-level strategic advisement as well as commercial real estate development ranging in use from industrial and medical to mixed-use and retail.

Mears specializes in sourcing and structuring large scale deals for investors and tenants and is recognized as a high level producer in the industry.

In addition to her work with NAI Coastal and Gillis Gilkerson, Mears owns and operates M3 Investments, a company she founded to engage in local commercial real estate opportunities.

Throughout her career, Mears has served in leadership capacities to grow the communities, organizations and companies with which she affiliates.

Mears serves on the Boards of Directors for several community organizations, including Leadership Maryland, where she is among a selected group of Maryland’s best and brightest leaders enlisted to create actionable, positive change in the state.

She is a graduate of Salisbury University.

Tori Brown

Tori Brown is the Operations Manager of NAI Coastal and also works as a Licensed Commercial Real Estate Advisor alongside Principal, Chris Davis.

Brown uses her background in marketing and strategic communications to help guide the company toward growth.

Since her start in the commercial real estate industry in 2015, she has consistently assisted Davis in sale and lease transactions while also gaining experience in client relations and deal flow management.

Throughout the course of her career, Brown has served on multiple committees pertaining to event planning, community involvement and strategic marketing.

Her role within NAI Coastal encompasses everything from transaction coordination and organizational growth to public relations and marketing outreach.

Brown is a graduate of West Virginia University. 

Christian Phillips

Christian Phillips is a Licensed Commercial Real Estate Advisor with NAI Coastal. Aligning himself with The Gillis Gilkerson Team and Principal, Chris Davis, he provides his clients with over 20 combined years of specialized hospitality and medical office knowledge.

Phillips focuses on tenant representation as well as the sale and leasing of commercial and investment properties.

After years of involvement with the Gillis Gilkerson team, Phillips is able to offer his clients a unique insight into the process of commercial redevelopment and construction.

He is a member of both the Ocean City Chamber of Commerce and the Salisbury Area Chamber of Commerce.

Phillips is a graduate of Salisbury University.

George Merritt

George Merritt is a Licensed Real Estate Advisor with NAI Coastal. George’s primary focus is the representation of commercial real estate users, whether they be buyers or tenants.

Merritt’s role within the team and affiliation with Gillis Gilkerson Development Real Estate Co. allow him to go above and beyond the call of duty of a traditional real estate advisor; he is able to identify and show properties on the market in their current state, while also having the resources to show their future potential as well as opportunities for new construction.

Merritt brings more than 24 years of sales experience to the table, including 19 years and over 5,000 units sold in the automotive industry.

NAI Global

NAI Global acknowledges that its strengths are attributed to local leadership and the local leadership’s handpicked team.

With NAI offices serving as market leaders who are deeply rooted in their communities around the world, the local teams provide a broader scope of offerings than the average commercial real estate brokerage.

Though the company has sites all over the world, NAI Global offices are leaders in their local markets and work in unison to provide clients with exceptional solutions to their commercial real estate needs.