new player is making waves in the competitive world of commercial real estate. Tayal Brokerage is bringing a fresh perspective to the market by combining top-tier real estate services with a deep commitment to community reinvestment.

Aleut regional corporation launched the new subsidiary late last year. “Tayal,” which means “to buy” in Unangam Tunuu (Aleut), was carefully chosen through collaboration with elders. The company’s logo, a double-bladed paddle, or haasix, carries cultural significance too.

“We were very thoughtful about choosing the right name for this company,” explains broker-in-charge Mike Jenks. “It was important for us to honor our Unangâx heritage through Tayal’s brand. The double-bladed paddle symbolizes balance and forward movement; those are the values that drive our brokerage’s approach to serving both clients and community.”

What sets Tayal apart in the commercial real estate landscape is its dual mission. “As an Alaska Native owned brokerage, we operate with two clear objectives,” Jenks explains. “The first is to provide top-tier commercial real estate services, and the second is to reinvest in Alaska Native communities.”

Reinvestment takes multiple forms, from increased dividends for Aleut shareholders to enhanced funding for training, career development, and scholarships. The company also maintains active involvement in community sponsorships throughout Anchorage and the Matanuska-Susitna Borough.

“Tayal’s values of community, integrity, innovation, and collaboration guide everything we do,” Jenks emphasizes. “They are a reflection of who we are, from business decisions to client interactions.”

Backed by its parent company and the Aleut Real Estate business lines that Jenks also manages, Tayal brings enterprise-level support to its operations. The firm offers a full spectrum of commercial real estate services, including buyer and seller representation, tenant and landlord representation, and lease renewals.

One notable offering is the land use advisory service. “A lot of our Alaska Native corporations and village corporations have land and need guidance on what to do with it,” Jenks notes. “We can provide advice on options and determine the highest and best use of commercial land—whether that’s retail, restaurants, warehouses, or other possibilities.”

The brokerage also provides specialized consulting services, including investment strategy and portfolio management. It offers broker opinions of value, which are often needed for refinances and appraisals. Enterprise backing through Aleut enables the brokerage to assist with unique situations, such as placing Native-owned land in trust.

The idea for Tayal emerged from recognizing a gap in the market. Local businesses, including Alaska Native regional and village corporations, needed a brokerage that understood their needs, particularly regarding decision-making and long-term investment strategies.

“We’re creating business-to-business relationships with our clients,” Jenks explains. “When a real estate decision arises, you don’t have to remember my name or the person who helped you five years ago. You can simply call our company, and all of our staff will be equally qualified to help.”

The brokerage serves diverse clients, from construction companies seeking laydown yards to local businesses looking for office space or entrepreneurs requiring warehouse facilities. The approach is tailored to each client’s specific needs while maintaining consistent professional standards.

In Anchorage, the commercial real estate market continues to evolve in the post-COVID-19 landscape. Tayal is seeing encouraging trends, especially in Class A office space, which Jenks notes is “filling up pretty quick.”

“During COVID, we saw the office market get decimated with the stay-at-home orders,” Jenks explains. “But in the last year, we’ve seen a rebound. It started with big tech companies asking people to come back to the office. People enjoy seeing other people—we’re learning that. Companies right-sized during COVID, whether they went down or up, it was really a mix.”

With ambitious expansion plans already in motion, Tayal is positioning itself for significant growth through strategic hiring and capability development. The team includes Jenks as broker-in-charge and Nora Delolli as property specialist and transaction coordinator, but the vision extends far beyond this core team.

“By April, we’re going to be rocking and rolling,” Jenks shares enthusiastically. The company is recruiting established real estate professionals with specialized skills to complement existing capabilities. The growth strategy is carefully calibrated to build a comprehensive team while maintaining high standards.

“We’re bringing all of these capabilities in-house to create a super team,” says Jenks. “We’re looking for people with deep experience in lands and developments, associations, and management. But being a new venture and representing the Aleut people, we have to maintain integrity at the forefront of everything we do. Everyone coming here will be fully vetted for integrity, skill, personability, and overall competence.”

The company’s growth strategy is thoughtfully planned, leveraging Aleut’s corporate scale to create a foundation for long-term success. “The great thing about Tayal is we have enterprise-backed efficiency through Aleut that enables us to leverage greater resources, streamline operations, and maintain cost effectiveness,” Jenks explains. “That creates a foundation for Tayal to be in a position for scalability and long-term growth.”

In the near term, the company plans to grow to a staff of four, but ambitions extend beyond just adding head count. “I hope in a year all four people are bursting at the seams with business, and we’re looking for more people,” Jenks shares. “But growth alone isn’t enough. We also prioritize proactive networking because real estate is all about relationships. Through professional organizations like BOMA [Building Owners and Managers Association] and strategic partnerships in Anchorage, we build relationships that fuel sustained success.”

The company is already exploring partnerships with long-time Alaskan-owned companies, though specific details remain confidential. These partnerships are expected to create new opportunities for land use and development projects that will benefit both the local economy and Tayal’s shareholders.

Perhaps most striking about Tayal is its deep commitment to community. “What we do reflects on our shareholders, whether we like it or not,” Jenks notes. “Having ‘Aleut’ in the name does raise our internal standards of integrity.”

For Jenks, who is an Aleut shareholder himself with family from Atka, leading Tayal represents the fulfillment of a longtime dream. “It’s been my goal since I was a kid to work at Aleut,” he shares. “This is like the perfect job for me. It fits what I’ve wanted to do since I was a child. It fits my background. It fits my interests.”

His path to this role included service in the US Marine Corps, college in North Dakota, and eleven years at Southcentral Foundation in various management and administrative roles. He also brings personal real estate investment experience, having owned and managed multiple multi-family units.

He sees unique opportunities in the Anchorage commercial real estate market that Tayal is well-positioned to capture. For instance, the rebound in Class A office space is just one indicator of the market’s potential. “When the Class A office space fills up, we’re going to see a slow rebound in the Class B and C office space also,” Jenks predicts. “Anchorage is a tight market, so it’s going to fill up.”

The company sees particular potential in serving Alaska Native corporations. “Tayal is in a unique position to truly help our ANCs, village corps, nonprofits, and other small businesses get ahead in their real estate goals,” Jenks emphasizes. “There is so much opportunity for us to partner that it’s very exciting.”