REAL ESTATE : Major Changes Are in the Works for Scher-Voit Commercial Brokerage

In a major revamp, Scher-Voit Commercial Brokerage Co. in Irvine will get a new name and a new president by year’s end, and co-founder Lawrence M. Scher will resign.

As part of a strategy to integrate the real estate brokerage with a sister operation, Voit Cos. in Woodland Hills, Sher-Voit will become Voit Commercial Brokerage Co., officials said Friday.

Robert D. Voit, president of Voit Cos., will act as president of the brokerage until the position is filled.

Scher, 57, who opened the first Grubb & Ellis brokerage in Orange County in 1970, said he is leaving Scher-Voit because of “some personal matters that have been postponed for too long.”

Founded in 1987, Scher-Voit has completed more than 5,000 leases valued at $1 billion and more than 700 sales valued at $1.2 billion. It has more than 200 employees and offices in Irvine, Anaheim, San Diego, Carlsbad, Chula Vista and Paramount.

Voit Cos. has management, development and construction divisions. Robert Voit said the brokerage unit’s revamp is the first stage of a plan to create the state’s strongest privately owned real estate services company.