MOUNT KISCO, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug 25, 2026--
Diamond Properties announced that Mark Blanford, Executive Vice President, and Jeff Haack, Leasing Manager, have been named winners of CoStar’s Q2 2026 Power Broker Quarterly Deals Award for completing a lease of approximately 55,846 square feet at 600 Beta Drive in Mayfield Village, Ohio, to Mars Electric.
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CoStar Group, Inc., a leading provider of commercial real estate information, analytics, and online marketplaces, recognizes Power Broker Quarterly Deals winners for significant commercial real estate transactions completed each quarter, based on price and square footage.
The transaction provides Mars Electric with a substantial location to support its operations while bringing a new tenant to 600 Beta Drive. The lease reflects Diamond Properties’ hands-on approach to marketing available space, understanding tenant requirements, negotiating terms, and creating leasing solutions that strengthen occupancy and long-term property performance.
Mark Blanford has been an integral member of Diamond Properties since the company’s inception. As Executive Vice President, he serves in several capacities, with a primary focus on leasing and tenant relations. Over the past 30 years, Mark’s efforts have helped Diamond Properties maintain consistently high occupancy rates throughout its portfolio.
Mark is known for developing creative solutions for tenants with specialized or challenging space requirements. He also plays an important role in maintaining strong tenant relationships and high levels of satisfaction while guiding tenants through lease renewals and changing market conditions.
Jeff Haack joined Diamond Properties on January 27, 2026, bringing five years of experience as a business owner and seven years of commercial leasing management experience. As Leasing Manager, he oversees the leasing process for a growing number of assigned properties, including marketing available spaces, generating and qualifying leads, coordinating property tours, negotiating lease terms, and finalizing transactions.
Jeff also researches market conditions, maintains relationships with tenants and brokers, and develops targeted outreach strategies designed to reduce vacancies and strengthen overall portfolio performance.
“Mark and Jeff’s recognition reflects the experience, persistence, and market knowledge they bring to the leasing process,” said Jim Diamond, CEO of Diamond Properties. “The lease with Mars Electric at 600 Beta Drive demonstrates our team’s ability to understand a tenant’s space requirements, structure a successful transaction, and create long-term value for our properties.”
Diamond Properties congratulates Mark Blanford and Jeff Haack on receiving the CoStar Power Broker Quarterly Deals Award for Q2 2026.
For more information about the CoStar Power Broker Awards, visit: https://www.costarpowerbrokers.com/about
About Diamond Properties
Diamond Properties is a commercial real estate company located in Mount Kisco, New York, that focuses on acquiring commercial properties with the potential for substantial improvement through hands-on property management, market repositioning, and capital upgrades. Founded in 1995, Diamond Properties has acquired more than 125 properties, including office, medical, industrial, retail, self-storage, residential, lodging, and land assets. The company currently owns more than 100 properties totaling approximately 17 million square feet across 13 states.
About CoStar Group, Inc.
CoStar Group (NASDAQ: CSGP) is a global leader in commercial real estate information, analytics, online marketplaces, and 3D digital twin technology. Founded in 1986, CoStar Group is dedicated to digitizing the world’s real estate and empowering people to discover properties, insights, and connections that improve their businesses and lives.
CoStar Group’s major brands include CoStar, LoopNet, Apartments.com, Homes.com, Domain, Matterport, STR, Ten-X, and OnTheMarket. Headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, the company serves clients around the world through its commercial and residential real estate platforms. For more information, visit CoStarGroup.com.
Diamond Properties’ Mark Blanford and Jeff Haack Receive CoStar’s Q2 2026 Power Broker Quarterly Deals Award
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Lines have grown outside gas stations across Tehran in recent weeks as the United States has tightened its blockade and threatened more severe sanctions, with some people waiting for two hours or more to fill up.
The uncertainty deepened on Tuesday, after U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent vowed to fully sever the country from the global economy. In recent days, Iranian officials have spoken of a possible reduction in heavy gas subsidies as they seek to endure the tightening blockade.
“Maybe we will face a shortage of fuel,” said Hashem Abadi, a 34-year-old barber. “I rush to the filling stations whenever my tank is down to half or so.”
The latest U.S. measures are aimed at wringing concessions from the Islamic Republic nearly six months into the war launched by President Donald Trump and Israel. The war has already battered Iran's economy and inflicted mounting pain on ordinary people. But there's no sign yet that it has brought Iran's leaders to their knees, or that it will reignite the anti-government protests that convulsed the country in January.
The lines had been growing longer well before Bessent's announcement, amid shortages caused by the American blockade and existing sanctions. And with double-digit inflation and the rial currency at a record low, Iranians are struggling to afford more than just fuel.
“I'm filling my car as much as possible since soon it will be sold at higher prices,” said 51-year-old taxi driver Mahmoud Chavoshi. “Everything I buy has grown more expensive over the last week, from milk to pasta.”
There were no such lineups outside banks, and grocery stores and pharmacies are still well-stocked, but customers complained about being able to afford less. Inflation has soared during the war, and the currency hit a record low ahead of Bessent's announcement.
“Some of our regular customers buy now and pay later, since their pockets are not as full as before,” said Morteza Daryani, who runs a grocery store in Tehran.
Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian accused the U.S. of resorting to economic pressure after failing to defeat Iran militarily. He said it was trying to create “social problems and economic dissatisfaction in order to throw Iran into chaos.”
“Should we bow down to the problems and surrender? Absolutely not,” he was quoted as saying by the semiofficial Fars and Tasnim news agencies.
There are no signs yet that the economic discontent has translated into protests in Iran, where authorities violently crushed demonstrations at the start of the year, killing thousands.
Iran has been under heavy international sanctions for decades due to its nuclear program and support for armed groups. Oil sales to China have long provided a lifeline, and it's unclear if the U.S. can cut them off.
Still, there are “always limits to resistance and resilience,” said Mohammad Farzanegan, a professor of Middle Eastern economics at the University of Marburg in Germany.
“People are losing their purchasing power every day,” he said. “All of this, combined with worsening diplomatic prospects and the psychological burden of mounting pressures, could push frustration to a point where it can no longer be effectively managed by the state.”
Esfandyar Batmanghelidj, who heads the Bourse & Bazaar Foundation, a think tank focused on Iran’s economy, said the sectors that Bessent threatened to target “are not lifelines for the Iranian state, they are lifelines for the Iranian people.”
In an analysis posted on X, Batmanghelidj said digital assets and gold are how Iranians protect their savings, technology keeps them connected with the world, aviation allows them to travel, and shipping is how food and medicine reach Iran.
At the moment, the most effective economic pressure has come from the naval blockade.
But last week's announcement from the United Arab Emirates that it was cutting off all trade and financial transactions with Iran could have longer-term effects if the country follows through, said Sascha Bruchmann, an analyst with the International Institute of Strategic Studies' Middle East office in Bahrain.
Bessent, who on Monday threatened secondary American sanctions on countries doing business with Iran, suggested it was pressure from Washington that led the UAE to its decision.
“Actions that they took last week were not coincident but likely causal, and I would expect that we would see a broad array of countries taking similar actions as we continue our engagement,” he said.
Iran is exerting pressure of its own by largely closing the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway that carried a fifth of the world's oil and gas before the war. It's betting that the impact on the global economy — and U.S. gas prices ahead of midterm elections — will force Trump to back down.
“Trump is betting that their time runs out first due to the naval blockade,” Bruchmann said. “Both clocks are ticking, and no one knows which clock is right.”
A man is filling up his car at a gas station in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Cars line up outside a gas station in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
A man is filling up his car at a gas station in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Cars line up outside a gas station in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Motorcycles and cars line up outside a gas station in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Motorcycles and cars line up outside a gas station in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
A man is filling up his car at a gas station in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
A man is filling up his car at a gas station in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Cars line up outside a gas station in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
