January February 2023 Midwest Real Estate News

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Midwest Real Estate News brings real estate leaders together to explore the challenges and opportunities unique to their markets.

A year of falling values? That’s one CRE prediction from Integra Realty Resource’s Viewpoint 2023 report: Falling values? Fewer transactions? A slowdown in new construction starts? These are all likely in the commercial real estate sector in 2023, according to Anthony Graziano, chief executive officer of Integra Realty Resources, a Denver, Colorado-based commercial research and consulting firm with offices across the country.

Workers wanted … still. AGC survey points to labor shortages as biggest challenge for construction companies in 2023: The biggest challenge facing the construction industry in 2023? Finding enough workers to staff their job sites.

CBRE’s Leah FitzGerald: A big believer in downtown Kansas City: Downtowns across the Midwest continue to struggle with the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, as many employees continue to work from home. This has left many urban cores with high office vacancy rates and downtown retailers who are struggling to find customers now that the lunch-time rush barely exists.

Transaction volume won’t stay stale forever: Law firm DLA Piper recently released its 2022 Year-End Real Estate Trends Report. One of the more interesting findings? Transactional volume handled by DLA Piper’s real estate group soared in the first half of 2022, nearly doubling the volume that the firm handled in the first half of 2021.

In a challenging economic environment? Economic Development Corporations are key partners: Economic Development Corporations are friends of commercial real estate developers and city planners no matter what is happening in the broader economy. But when economic uncertainty hits, like today when developers, construction firms and lenders face rising interest rates and stubbornly high inflation? Economic Development Corporations – or EDCs – are more important than ever.

Berkadia: Readying for a different, but still strong, sort of year in Indianapolis’ apartment market: A slowdown in new construction but a surge in new deliveries with an occupancy rate still higher than normal. That’s what Berkadia predicts for the Indianapolis apartment market in 2023.

SPECIAL SECTION: Midwest Real Estate News Commercial

Real Estate Hall of Fame: Which CRE professionals made our hall of fame this year? Check out our Commercial Real Estate Hall of Fame bios to find out.

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New challenges? Those aren’t stopping our Hall of Famers

It’s been a rough several years, starting with a global pandemic and now moving on to rising interest rates and persistent inflation. Add in the challenges of a tight labor market and ever-increasing materials costs, and you can see: This is far from an easy time to be working in the commercial real estate industry.

But in a bit of good news? The commercial real estate industry has shown its resilience through even these difficult times. And the stars of the commercial real estate world? They’ve not only overcome the hurdles of an uncertain economy, they’ve continued to grow their businesses, serve their clients and rack up impressive production numbers.

That’s why this issue of Midwest Real Estate News is such a special one. For our first issue of every year, we highlight the newest members of our Midwest Commercial Real Estate Hall of Fame. It’s inspiring to read through these profiles to learn how these CRE veterans have not only built their thriving careers but have maintained them over the decades.

Our hope is that you will study these profiles, too, to take inspiration from them. You might learn a strategy or two – or even a general approach to the business of closing commercial deals – that can help boost your own career.

And let’s be honest: Everyone can use a bit of extra help today. As 2023 settles in, commercial real estate professionals still face plenty of economic uncertainty. It’s not yet certain what the Fed will do with its benchmark interest rate in the coming months. It’s uncertain, too, whether inflation will continue to dip. And no one can confidently predict when the costs of construction materials will finally fall.

Just how uncertain is today’s business environment? Consider the office sector, which has been especially hard hit since the onset of the pandemic. A look at the fourth quarter 2022 Office Outlook report published by JLL earlier this year gives plenty of evidence of the uncertainty hitting this sector.

JLL reported that leasing activity in the U.S. office sector fell 10.8% in the fourth quarter to 40.7 million square feet.

Net absorption numbers were weak, too. In the fourth quarter of last year, the U.S. office sector saw net absorption of negative 12.5 million square feet. For the year, the sector’s net absorption came in at a negative 37.4 million square feet. On the positive side, this was an improvement from 2021, which saw negative net absorption of 59 million square feet.

And in a story in this issue, we report on Integra Realty Resource’s Viewpoint review, which predicts that commercial real estate values will fall this year.

Of course, CRE professionals, whether Hall of Famers or not, won’t face a totally bleak landscape this year. Certain sectors, including multifamily, industrial and retail, are looking strong early in this year.

The retail sector is a good example. This sector saw its lowest vacancy

rate in 15 years in the fourth quarter of last year, according to the latest research from Lee & Associates.

And that’s just the start of the good news from the company’s fourth quarter 2022 retail report. According to Lee & Associates, the retail sector saw 20.7 million square feet of net absorption in the fourth quarter of last year. That brought the year’s total net absorption in this space to 74.8 million. This demand was the most seen in the retail sector since 2017 and exceeded new supply by 30 million square feet.

At the same time, the overall U.S. retail vacancy rate fell to 4.2% in the fourth quarter, the lowest this figure has been in 15 years.

This all happened despite the higher prices that consumers face for food, gas and housing. The retail sector has thrived even as interest rates rise. U.S. retail sales, excluding auto, gasoline and non-store retailers, rose to a new monthly record of $384 billion in September.

A year of falling values? That’s one CRE prediction from Integra Realty Resource’s Viewpoint 2023 report

Falling values? Fewer transactions? A slowdown in new construction starts? These are all likely in the commercial real estate sector in 2023, according to Anthony Graziano, chief executive officer of Integra Realty Resources, a Denver, Colorado-based commercial research and consulting firm with offices across the country.

Integra recently released its Viewpoint 2023 report, an in-depth look at what it expects to see in commercial real estate this year. The takeaway? Expect a year of change, with commercial real estate values normalizing.

In other words, expect CRE values to fall this year from the peaks they hit in 2021 and 2022.

Graziano shared his thoughts on the U.S. commercial real estate market and its future with Midwest Real Estate News. Here is some of what he had to say:

Integra Realty Resources cites Amazon’s decision to pull back on the number of new warehouses it is building. Is this a sign that the industrial market might have finally hit a peak?

Anthony Graziano: I don’t know that we can call it a peak yet. The fundamentals are still good for the long term. But in terms of value and pricing, we have probably seen industrial’s peak. I don’t think we’ll see industrial values keep rising this year. There is still a large speculative supply out there. Then there’s the pullback from Amazon. I think that is giving investors pause.

We do expect industrial demand to begin to slow down this year. That will put pressure on pricing in 2023. The costs of construction are up. Interest rates are up. As we are heading into a recessionary climate, we will see pullbacks in spending. That will have an impact on the industrial market.

I’m sure that will concern CRE professionals. The industrial market has been so strong for so long.

Graziano: There are still markets with opportunities for industrial development and investment. In markets that have a limited amount of land and

where demand is still high, you might still see strong industrial values. It’s all driven by demand. At the end of the day, how sustainable is the demand that we’ve seen for industrial? If you look at most of these markets, industrial product is trading at two times what it was two years ago. That is not sustainable. We can’t continue that trajectory.

You mentioned rising construction costs. Is there any relief on the horizon from these rising costs?

Graziano: I do think relief is coming. It might take a bit longer to work through the cycle, though. It will take a turn of projects that are planned but don’t get started to cause construction costs to fall. The difficulty now is that developers are telling construction contractors that they are going to start their projects. Construction contractors are still bidding as if everything is going to start. The reality is, not all of these projects are going to start. Contractors won’t have as much work. That will bring construction costs down. Everyone is still working as if the pipeline of new projects is full. When that pipeline empties out, the suppliers of construction materials will have to offer more competitive prices.

I think that we will start to see that this year. There won’t be as much new construction out there. That will make costs more competitive. It will probably take the better part of this year to see construction costs come down. We are already starting to see materials costs come down in the residential sector. There are going to be projects planned for this year, but whether construction is started is what matters when it comes to costs. The market conditions of coming out of the ground are challenging. We have a flagging of demand, rising interest rates, high inflation and rising costs. Those four things are not conducive for projects coming out of the ground. Once the

“Once the demand for construction weakens, the industry will have to adjust. Contractors will have to be more competitive to win work. The costs will come down. That will make projects more feasible to start.”

Anthony Graziano

demand for construction weakens, the industry will have to adjust. Contractors will have to be more competitive to win work. The costs will come down. That will make projects more feasible to start.

What about the office market? That sector is struggling across our markets. What do you see happening in the office sector this year?

Graziano: The preference of most workers is to keep working from home. Unemployment is so low, employees have the power to demand a hybrid or work-from-home scenario. Once unemployment creeps up, the employers will get back more power. They will bring back more of a full-time in-the-office model. They can start telling workers that they must come in full time if they want a position. We’ll see more migration back to the office as unemployment starts to rise.

But the rise in work-from-home is just one element in this. The other question? What are we using the office for? What

is the purpose of the office? In most suburban offices at this point, they have the amenities and location that will attract people back to the office. That is what office investors are looking at: Is the office building in the right location? Does it have the right amenities? Is it offering the right environment to encourage workers to come back? That’s where there has been a flight to Class-A assets with the right amenities. Those are the prime office assets to own.

Do you see any positives for the office sector this year?

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Graziano: Coming out of COVID, office and retail were the least-favored asset classes for investors. Because of this, we didn’t see a dramatic run-up in pricing for office and retail. The good news is that we already normalized pricing for these assets. They didn’t have any huge price run-ups that need to be corrected. As the market rolls out this year, we are going to see office and retail transactions.

Will we see many conversions of outdated office space, perhaps into multifamily?

Graziano: It depends on the office building. If you are looking at a small building with narrow footprints in New York City, where land is valuable, that is an OK candidate for a conversion to multifamily. But for most obsolete buildings in most cities in the United States, buildings with large footprints and tons of exterior glass, conversion is not feasible. It is very expensive to convert office buildings to residential. Making the economics work is difficult. That is not the solution to what we are going to do about office space. Multifamily demand is starting to slacken.

For those buildings that aren’t good candidates for conversion, some will find an alternate re-use. They might become studio space or some type of entertainment space. But the real answer is that we don’t know what is going to happen with those office buildings. There is no good answer. They are obsolete. Eventually, they will get torn down and redeveloped. There is a point where no matter how big a building is, it makes sense to rip down the building and start over.

In the Viewpoint 2023 report, Integra references some alternatives to what we typically view as traditional real estate investments. This includes build-to-rent residential homes.

There is increasing demand for buildto-rent single-family properties, isn’t there?

Graziano: The build-to-rent phenomenon is interesting. There is a lot of pressure in the housing market, including cancellations on new construction. The build-to-rent product is filling an important niche in the marketplace. The build-to-rent market is red hot. A lot of the people who want to live in a build-to-rent home are doing it for lifestyle reasons. They might be taking a job, say, in Dallas. But they don’t know how long they’ll have this job or how long they’ll be in Dallas. It doesn’t make sense to buy a home if you are not going to be there more than two or three years. This market type is a good fit for people who don’t want to make a long-term housing commitment.

Here’s a big question: Where do you see commercial real estate values trending this year?

Graziano: Real estate values have to normalize, which means they have to come down. They are now at a peak. They probably reached that peak by the end of 2021 or certainly by the middle of 2022. And now with the adjustments in the economy, with recessionary pressures impacting demand and inflationary pressures driving interest rates up, we should see most values come down in 2023.

Those sellers who are not in a position where they are forced to sell this year probably won’t. It’s more logical for sellers to hold onto their properties. That will result in fewer transactions and buyers. The properties that do sell will sell for values that will be lower than what we’ve seen recently. Buyers won’t stretch to make a deal. The sellers will try to hold out. But at some point, they will have to lower their price.

Workers wanted … still. AGC survey points to labor shortages as biggest challenge for construction companies in 2023

The biggest challenge facing the construction industry in 2023? Finding enough workers to staff their job sites.

That’s one of the key findings from the 2023 Construction Hiring & Business Outlook report released earlier this year by the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC).

A total of 80% of respondents cited in the AGC report said that they are struggling to fill some or all their salaried or hourly craft positions. Only 8% told the AGC that they were having no difficulty in finding enough workers.

This challenge shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone who’s followed the construction industry. Ken Simonson, chief economist with the Associated General Contractors of America, said that the construction industry’s hiring challenges stretch back decades, starting when schools began scrapping their vocational education programs and guidance counselors and parents began steering students to college degrees and indoor jobs.

“It’s been a chronic issue,” Simonson told Midwest Real Estate News in an interview.

The issue has persisted even though the construction industry has generally paid its workers well for entry-level jobs, Simonson said. He pointed to numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showing that for 20 years through 2019 construction jobs paid a premium of about 21.5% to people entering the workforce directly after high school.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the demand for restaurant, delivery and warehouse workers surged. That led these employers to boost their pay rates, too. That reduced the premium that construction workers were earning, with Simonson saying that the wage premium for construction

jobs fell to as low as 15% during the height of the pandemic when compared to other jobs that employees could land directly after high school.

This dip in the wage premium further reduced the number of workers interested in jumping into the construction industry, Simonson said.

The pay for construction jobs is rising again, increasing at a faster rate than is the pay for other work, Simonson said. Simonson cited Bureau of Labor Statistics’ numbers showing that the average hourly wage for construction jobs was up 6.1% from December of 2021 to December of last year. During this same period, the average wage for all jobs in the private sector jumped by just 5%.

Even with these higher wages, though, construction firms are struggling to fill their openings, Simonson said. Simonson said that throughout 2022 the number of job openings at the end of each month set a record for that month.

In the AGC survey, 69% of respondents said that they expect to increase their headcount of employees in 2023. At the same time, though, these respondents recognize that doing this will be challenging. A total of 58% of respondents said that hiring will continue to be hard or will become harder. Only 15% said that

filling open positions will become easier.

This challenge persists even though almost 75% of firms reported that they increased base pay rates more than in 2021. That’s an increase of the 62% of firms that said that they increased pay more in 2021 than in 2020.

With higher pay rates, what is keeping more workers from taking jobs in the construction industry?

“The pandemic has changed people’s choices in some ways,” Simonson said. “Job openings have been running at record levels. Openings have come down somewhat from the peak

CONSTRUCTION (continued on page 18)

CBRE’s Leah FitzGerald: A big believer in downtown Kansas City

Downtowns across the Midwest continue to struggle with the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, as many employees continue to work from home. This has left many urban cores with high office vacancy rates and downtown retailers who are struggling to find customers now that the lunch-time rush barely exists.

But this doesn’t mean that there isn’t hope for the Midwest’s downtowns. Just ask Leah FitzGerald, managing director with the Kansas City office of CBRE. This industry veteran sees a brighter future for commercial real estate in Kansas City’s urban core. And it all starts with employers incentivizing their workers to return to the office and the city continuing to invest in downtown through transportation and infrastructure.

Midwest Real Estate News recently spoke to FitzGerald about the commercial real estate market in Kansas City, both downtown and suburban, as 2023 begins. Here is some of what she had to say.

Leah FitzGerald: We had a very positive year. It was our best year on record locally, by quite a big margin. Now, most of those gains were made in the first part of the year. We kind of limped into 2023 when you look at the activity we had in the fourth quarter. Having said that, overall we had a really strong year despite all the headwinds we are facing.

And as in most markets, were multifamily and industrial the strongest performers in the Kansas City market last year?

FitzGerald: By far. Industrial and multifamily were the stars last year. We have very strong multifamily and industrial teams here. That certainly helped. But our retail team also did very well. I say that they are small but mighty. Our office team had a lot of big wins, too. Everybody had a pretty solid year, all the way around and I’m pretty pleased.

We often overlook retail, but it sounds like retailers had a pretty strong 2022 overall.

FitzGerald: Retailers are starting to get very creative with their footprints and product offerings. They are getting better at marrying e-commerce with brick-and-mortar. They know that customers might purchase something online and if they decide to return it, they’ll go in person to the store. Once they’re in the store, they might do more shopping while they return their item. Retailers today understand how important it is to focus on both online and in-person shopping.

That doesn’t mean that retail doesn’t have challenges. Retail is still highly impacted by location, density and traffic. Parking is a big driver for retail.

Retailers have certain parking ratios that they expect to see, especially in the urban core where parking is at a premium and is more difficult to come by. Developers and city leaders want to minimize parking, but retailers want to maximize it.

How are retailers and developers handling parking in the urban core?

FitzGerald: That is kind of a pain point when it comes to retail, especially with the national credit clients. They are looking at a larger-scale geographic footprint when figuring out where they want to expand. If they see one site that doesn’t quite meet the parking ratio and one that does, they’ll go with the one that does.

I recently co-chaired a study on shared parking through the Urban Land Institute. I was a little surprised that there is not a big appetite on the part of the city to invest in park-and-ride facilities. Their preference is to spread the parking out. In their minds, this encourages more walkability. We found with shared parking, you can park a mile away at a restaurant and then hop on the streetcar and go downtown for the day. When we studied what other cities were doing, the solution was often a park-and-ride garage that allows people to park and then take public transportation into the city. I

am optimistic we will find the right solution that works for Kansas City.

Another solution is to increase density, to encourage more people to live in downtown Kansas City. If people live downtown, they are out walking, not driving through the urban core.

Speaking of people living downtown, is there enough multifamily supply in Kansas City’s downtown core?

Fitzgerald: The challenges developers face with bringing in more multifamily is the cost of debt and the higher construction costs. Parking is a factor, too. Developers will often seek incentives to make their deals pencil. The city wants to encourage affordable housing, but those deals are difficult at this point to pencil without a strong partnership with local jurisdictions. Developers have historically focused on one subset of this industry, meaning they were either focused on building affordable projects or market-rate deals. This is beginning to change and some market-rate developers are starting to explore affordable deals, which is encouraging.

What about the office sector? This sector has been struggling in all the markets we cover.

FitzGerald: We are seeing by far the most office activity in South Johnson County, our suburban area. That’s where you have a higher per-capita income and where the schools are strong. The office product there is newer or recently renovated, and you have owners who are paying attention to amenities and keeping up their facilities. The office market in South Johnson County is really strong.

An example is Park Place in Leawood, Kansas. That’s a mixed-use project with office, retail and multifamily. We manage and lease the office and retail portion. We just celebrated 100% occupancy of the office portion of Park Place. The owner is a dream client and is very astute when it comes to making sure the amenities are top-notch. They make sure to keep their building facilities in excellent condition and we

operate as a partner with their team. As a result, we can leverage our CBRE platform to really perform on behalf of our client.

That said, I am a big believer in the strength and resilience of downtown Kansas City. I am optimistic that we will see demand return, and we are already seeing that.

Our downtown has historically had lower rents and higher vacancies than our suburbs. That hasn’t always been the case nationally, but for the first time in a long time, the national trend is mirroring what we’ve grown accustomed to here. We’ve been trying to solve this for a while and that’s in part why there is a call for increasing the density of downtown. The more people we get living in downtown, the better it is for our urban core. Certainly, there is a lot to get excited about in downtown KC, in terms of new hotels, KC Current Stadium and the streetcar. I am optimistic we will figure out downtown baseball. It’s a complex problem so the solution isn’t easy but I’m confident that all these projects coupled with our new airport will spur growth and development.

Is there anything that sets Kansas City apart and makes it a special place to do business?

FitzGerald: I am proud of how Kansas City loves Kansas City. We know that this is not typical in other markets. I’ve

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heard people from other cities remark about how everywhere they go they see people wearing something that says ‘Kansas City’ on it. That is exciting. It is fun to live in a place where people care about their city and about what is going on. That exuberance really has

an impact on people. We’ve heard it before about companies that come here with low expectations only to fall in love and go home with a Charlie Hustle T-shirt.

DLA Piper’s Trachtenberg: Transaction volume isn’t going to be stale forever

Law firm DLA Piper recently released its 2022 Year-End Real Estate Trends Report. One of the more interesting findings? Transactional volume handled by DLA Piper’s real estate group soared in the first half of 2022, nearly doubling the volume that the firm handled in the first half of 2021.

But in the second half of last year, the volume handled by the firm’s real estate group dropped dramatically, slowing to a pace more consistent with pre-pandemic levels.

What does this slowdown mean for 2023? We spoke with Boston-based Barbara Trachtenberg, partner of DLA Piper and co-vice chair of the firm’s real estate practice, about the trends report and what the commercial real estate industry might face this year.

Here is some of what she had to say.

We see in DLA Piper’s trends report that the transaction volume handled by your practice’s attorneys dropped in the second half of 2022. Do you think deal activity will continue to slow throughout 2023?

Barbara Trachtenberg: I was at the Real Estate Roundtable meeting in D.C. last week. This week we had our London real estate summit. People are generally thinking that at least the first quarter and maybe the first half of 2023 is going to be relatively slow for commercial real estate transaction volume, similar to what we saw in the second half of 2022.

But no one is sitting around saying, ‘This is going to be so bad.’ No one thinks that transaction volume will be stale forever. People are optimistic that after one or two more quarters the pace of transactions will pick up. They are confident about 2023. It’s not that nothing is happening. But 2021 and the first half of 2022 saw such a high volume of transactions that today feels slow by comparison. It’s not really that slow. It just seems slow after what we saw during the last year-and-a-half.

What caused the slowdown in transaction activity in the second half of last year?

Trachtenberg: The rising interest rates created some pricing issues, especially in the second quarter of last year. People were looking at purchase agreements that were enacted earlier in the year. Then, when they went to do their due diligence later in the year, they saw that the deals weren’t going to sketch out. Suddenly the cost of debt went up.

What’s interesting is that we saw buyers asking for concessions because of the rise in interest rates. But we didn’t see as much of that in quarters three and four. It makes me think that the interest rate increases have worked their way into underwriting by now. But, yes, some people are taking a pause because of the interest rates. Many of the people we are seeing in the market now are all-cash buyers.

Are investors and buyers looking for certainty today when it comes to interest rates?

Trachtenberg: People want to make sure that the cap rate they are using, the assumptions that they are using, are actually going to play out. Stability in interest rates helps create stability in the market.

The higher interest rates have had an impact. They contributed to the surge of multifamily business that we saw in 2022. You can factor inflation and interest rate increases into multifamily leases because they turn over quickly. At the same time, higher interest rates discourage people from buying homes. That is what is driving multifamily.

Where you surprised at all by how busy multifamily was last year?

Trachtenberg: I was surprised that of all the transactions we were involved in last year, 40% of them were multifamily. I would have thought it was less. I knew we were doing less industrial, but I also knew that we were doing more deals in the data center and life sciences space. So, yes, it was surprising to see that so much of what we worked on last year was in multifamily.

You mentioned that your company was involved in fewer industrial transactions last year. Do you think that the demand for industrial space is slowing, at least a bit?

Trachtenberg: It will slow down this year. You see the headlines about what is happening in distribution and logistics. Industrial had been hot for so long. Demand for industrial space went up in 2019. It went up in 2020 and 2021. It makes sense during a pandemic when people are spending more time at home and are not as willing to get out, that they will rely more on people bringing things to them. The demand for industrial space couldn’t stay as high as it was. That can’t last forever. But the industrial market won’t do what the office sector did. It will slow a bit, but it will continue to remain a strong sector.

Speaking of office, do you see some hope for increased demand for office space this year?

Trachtenberg: It depends on what kind of investor you are. There will be opportunities in office. For people

who are well-capitalized and who are willing to take risks, there will be opportunities. They might want to buy office properties that might currently be having some leasing issues but are otherwise good assets. If they have the time and capital to invest in them, those investments could pay off in the future.

Is the office market strong in the suburbs or in urban areas today?

Trachtenberg: We do a state-of-themarket survey of our clients every year. We have asked the question for the last few years about whether the office sector will be more robust in urban or suburban areas. We took that question out this year. The notion that we heard early in the pandemic that people if they were going back to the office would want to be closer to home and not go back into the city hasn’t played out. I am sitting here in London right now. It is so busy. People are back in the office in London. It’s just a matter of time before we end up the same way.

Now, companies might not be using as much office space as they did pre-pandemic. People are going to shrink their

footprints. I really do think, too, that there will be some office space that will struggle. In the long term, though, office space will still be a strong play.

You mentioned earlier that the life sciences and medical office markets were strong last year. What are some of the factors behind that?

Trachtenberg: One of the things we as America realized during the pandemic was that we need to be controlling more of our pharmaceutical and med-

ical uses. I do think there has been an increased focus on not just developing new vaccines and technique and pharma in America, but also on manufacturing it here. There is a lot more PPE, too, getting manufactured here in the United States.

Even with all the economic uncertainty that the United States is facing today, do investors still consider commercial real estate a good home for their dollars?

Trachtenberg: Commercial real estate, especially in the United States, has always been a good hedge against inflation. People still have a lot of dry powder that they are ready to deploy. They are just being more careful about how they deploy it. But I do think commercial real estate continues to be a very good opportunity for investors.

Was there anything else in DLA Piper’s trends report that you thought was interesting?

Trachtenberg: If you turned on the news during the pandemic, you would have thought that everyone was moving to the Sunbelt and that there was no one left in the Midwest and Northeast. But when it came down to it, the deals that we worked on last year took place in the places where you would have seen the most deals pre-pandemic, places like Boston, New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. These are the places where deals have been happening, the gateway cities. I do think that while maybe people are now looking at other markets, when it comes down to putting money on the line, they are still choosing to be in those gateway cities.

“I was surprised that of all the transactions we were involved in last year, 40% of them were multifamily.”

In a challenging economic environment?

Economic Development Corporations are key partners

Economic Development Corporations are friends of commercial real estate developers and city planners no matter what is happening in the broader economy. But when economic uncertainty hits, like today when developers, construction firms and lenders face rising interest rates and stubbornly high inflation? Economic Development Corporations – or EDCs – are more important than ever.

EDCs can help communities attract new developments, projects that can bring jobs, tourist dollars and new life to areas. They can entice large companies to open new headquarters or regional offices in struggling cities and towns, providing a much-needed economic jolt during tough times.

And they can help both developers and companies reach the agreements with city officials that can lead to new restuarants, stores, industrial facilities, office buildings and mixed-use developments opening in cities that desperately need the new commercial activity.

Midwest Real Estate News recently spoke with Matt McCauley, senior vice president of regional prosperity with the Lansing, Michigan-based Michigan Economic Development Corporation, about the important role that EDCs can play today when the commercial real estate industry faces so much economic uncertainty.

These are challenging times for many communities, including those in Michigan. How important are EDCs today when communities might need extra help to bring new companies and developments to their areas?

Matt McCauley: There has always been an important connection between state and local EDCs and the communities that they serve. There is no question about that. Communities seek businesses. Businesses seek talent. And talent seeks community. Those are the three buckets of economic development.

In this new landscape that we are in, when looking at the labor force and talent and how talent dynamics have changed in a post-COVID environment, we have to focus not only on the importance of growing and building businesses at the community level but also on opportunities for building the conditions that will make a community one in which talent wants to locate. It’s not to say that we didn’t focus on that previously, but as work-from-home has been embedded within our economic mix, the importance of creating an infrastructure that talent wants to be a part of is definitely a rising role of economic development activities.

What is talent looking for in a community?

McCauley: My personal view is that ultimately people are looking to connect with other people and to connect with amenities that create activity. We look at communities that create assets around recreation, dining, walkability, trails, housing and so on as moving in the right direction. Those are often the communities that are the most successful when it comes to the attraction, retention and building of talent.

Whether you are a large metropolis like Detroit or even a smaller community of 10,000 people, your ability to show connections between a variety

of assets that meets the needs of a diverse set of individuals is your competitive advantage. People want to access different things in different ways. The goal is to offer assets that you know are proven to appeal to how people want to live, work and play. That applies to the city of Detroit, Saginaw, Grand Rapids, Houghton and every Michigan community in between.

What makes Michigan an attractive destination for companies seeking new locations?

McCauley: The selling points for Michigan are tremendous. Just look at the quality and quantity of the four-year universities in the state. We are second to none in that category. In other states, such academic institutions are often centralized to a community or two. We can point to numerous communities that benefit from first-rate academic institutions. That dispersion of talent across the state is attractive to communities. There is not just one community that is an asset to Michigan, but a network of many different communities. Having that network makes it easier to create that connection between talent, business and community.

Another benefit is our access to water. Water is a needed infrastructure for everything that we do. We know that in this labor market, when people are

seeking out places, the accessibility of water is usually a top priority. We have different kinds, whether it’s rivers, the Great Lakes or any of our inland lakes. Water is a prime asset that this state has that many other states don’t.

What about affordability? Is it more affordable for companies to locate in Michigan than it is in many other markets?

McCauley: It is more affordable here. When we look at tax rates in the state of Michigan we are very competitive when compared to our neighbors and the nation as a whole. Whether looking at income tax, sales tax or property taxes, there is a level of competitiveness there that goes across the board. That puts us in a unique position where we can offer competitive tax rates both at the income and property level but also have a high quality of life. We have tax policies that promote a diverse population across the state.

How about the labor pool in Michigan? Is the presence of a skilled labor force a big draw for companies?

McCauley: We have a tremendous labor force in the state of Michigan. There is no question that there are some headwinds across the board

Berkadia: Readying for a different, but still strong, sort of year in Indianapolis’ apartment market

Aslowdown in new construction but a surge in new deliveries with an occupancy rate still higher than normal. That’s what Berkadia predicts for the Indianapolis apartment market in 2023.

In its 2023 forecast for the Indianapolis multifamily market, Berkadia reports that 4,657 multifamily units are expected to deliver in 2023, more than double the Indianapolis market’s pre-pandemic average. Berkadia is also forecasting net absorption to reach 2,773 units this year, a figure higher than the pre-pandemic average of 2,696 units from 2010 through 2019.

Even with a surge in new apartment deliveries, Berkadia predicts that the average multifamily occupancy rate in the Indianapolis metropolitan area should hold steady at 94.7% in 2023. That’d be down 100 basis points from the average in 2022 but is still higher than the 10-year pre-pandemic average of 93.1%.

Chris Bruzas, managing director of investment sales in Berkadia’s Indianapolis office, said that the largely positive forecast is a testament to the resilience of the local apartment market, one that has held steady even during the COVID-19 pandemic and now as the country deals with rising interest rates and persistent inflation.

“Indianapolis has done well even as of late when some cities are starting to hit a peak in rent growth,” Bruzas said. “There are outside factors nationally that are hitting our market like they are hitting all markets, interest rates, the threat of a recession. But if you zoom in on Indianapolis, everyone is still doing well here. We have strong multifamily rent growth. Rent growth is tapering off, but it’s still growing. Our occupancy rates might be hit a little but are still strong.”

This isn’t surprising to Bruzas. The Indianapolis market has always performed well during challenging economic times, he said. That’s a result of the market’s more conservative

nature, he said.

“We are going to hit a ceiling when it comes to rent growth. That’s just the realistic view,” Bruzas said. “But it will take us a while longer to get there. That’s how Indianapolis has always been, slower and steady. But steady is good during a pandemic or when a recession is coming.”

Berkadia predicts that the average asking monthly rent for Indianapolis-area apartment units should hit $1,243 in 2023. That figure would be up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis.

That’s still rent growth. But it’s also growth that is slowing, something that was inevitable. It’s not realistic to expect apartment rents in any market to continue to grow by double digit percentages each year.

“We expect rents to continue to grow in the first quarter of this year,” Bruzas said. “But we don’t expect them to keep growing a year from now. And double-digit rent growth? That reality has changed.”

As Bruzas says, the monthly rent that people can afford is tied to their employment. With the possibility of a recession hitting the United States this year, many renters are worried about the stability of their jobs. Because of this, they might not be as willing to pay as much to rent an apartment.

A positive for Indianapolis, though, is that monthly rents here aren’t as high as they are in many other big cities. Because of this, some renters will choose to live in Indianapolis instead of cities such as Chicago or New York, which will help keep demand for apartment units strong here.

“If you don’t have a job, you’re not getting the raise you wanted or if inflation is hitting your wallet, you have to pare down somewhere. It’s simple math,” Bruzas said.

A slowdown in new construction?

While Berkadia predicts that more than 4,600 apartment units will deliver in the Indianapolis market this year, it’s almost certain, too, that new apartment starts will slow in 2023.

There are several reasons for this slowdown: Interest rates are high. It’s difficult to find labor. Plenty of new apartment units have already hit the market.

“Talking to people, no one is anxious to get deals off the ground right now,” Bruzas said. “No one knows what will happen with interest rates. The word ‘recession’ is being mentioned in any conversation, whether that conversation is five minutes long or an hour long. I don’t expect a lot of announcements on new developments over the next year. When you are looking at interest rates and construction

financing, new development just isn’t that attractive right now.”

What hasn’t changed is that investors still view multifamily as a strong investment, Bruzas said.

He pointed to a recent deal Berkadia made. He and his team negotiated the sale of a 400-unit apartment property just south of downtown Indianapolis in late December of last year. The building was a value-add property built in the 1960s.

Bruzas said that a year ago he could have sold this property to five buyers almost instantly. Today, Berkadia faced a different buyer pool. The buyer who did purchase this multifamily property was able to get the property at a bit of a lower price. The buyer also didn’t have to fight it out with nearly as many competitors. As Bruzas said, six months ago, this property might have fetched 30 offers.

These are the buyers, the smaller ones that might not have won as many deals during the last two years, who will find opportunities in today’s multifamily market, Bruzas said.

“Apartments are still a good deal for

investors,” Bruzas said. “The Indianapolis apartment market had 10% rent growth over the last year. At the same time, the Dow is down. If multifamily isn’t the hottest, it is one of the hottest investments in real estate right now. That hasn’t changed.”

Berkadia enjoyed a strong year in the Indianapolis multifamily market

in 2022, with Bruzas saying that the company sold about 6,000 units throughout the entire state.

And the future? While 2023 will be a transition year, Bruzas says that that the Indianapolis apartment market will remain a strong and steady one.

“Most of the owners who had planned

to sell their apartment properties in 2023 went ahead and did it in 2022,” Bruzas said. “If we took half of what we did in 2022 and put those deals in 2023, we’d still have a normal year in our market. We had a record-shattering year last year. It helps to have some perspective on how strong last year was. No year is going to look as good following 2022.”

but are still running much higher than before the pandemic. Preferences have shifted, too. People have gotten used to working from home or on a hybrid basis with flexible hours. That isn’t possible when you are working on construction sites. Maybe you have a greater need to be close to your kid’s school. You don’t get that if you are at the top of a crane.”

Other challenges

Finding labor isn’t the only challenge that construction companies face this year. Rising construction costs continue to make building everything more challenging, Simonson said.

The good news? Simonson said that rising materials costs are either moderating or tapering. That will bring some financial relief to construction companies this year. But prices are still high. Simonson pointed to data showing that as of November of last year the cost of non-residential construction materials and services was up 10.1% when compared to the same month a year earlier.

At the same time, the rate of inflation was about 7.1%, Simonson said.

“Construction is experiencing steeper cost increases than are consumers and most businesses,” he said.

What has changed is which materials are costing more today. About 18 months ago, the costs of all materials seemed to be on the rise, Simonson said. Today, there has been a drop in the cost of materials such as lumber, steel, aluminum and copper. The cost of other materials, though, is on the rise, including gypsum, he said.

Long lead times continue to be challenging, too. Simonson said that the delivery times for transformers, switch gear and other electrical products have stretched to more than two years in some cases.

“Contractors are optimistic about the construction outlook for 2023, yet they are expecting very different market conditions for the coming year than what they experienced last year,” said Stephen Sandherr, the association’s chief executive officer, in a written statement. “Even as market demand evolves, contractors will continue to be confronted by many of the challenges they faced in 2022, including the impacts of supply chain problems and labor shortages.”

The impact of rising interest rates

As with everyone working in commercial real estate, contractors are worried about rising interest rates. Simonson said that AGC members surveyed said that they were still optimistic about the construction industry overall. But they were less optimistic than they were a year ago.

Simonson said that contractors are confident that even with rising rates, they will still be busy in 2023 with infrastructure and federal projects. Contractors were especially confident that highway and bridge work will remain busy categories this year. They expected, too, that they would be busy tackling airport, rail and port construction projects.

Where were contractors less optimistic? Private construction work. Simonson said that survey respon-

dents expect the amount of private construction work to slow this year.

Simonson said that he expects a continued slowdown in single-family housing construction this year. He also said that he expects construction activity to slow in any investor-financed categories, including apartments, warehouse, lodging, retail and office.

On the positive side, Simonson said that he expects higher demand for new manufacturing facilities in the United States.

“We’ve already seen these enormous semiconductor fabrication plants being built,” Simonson said. “We are seeing the construction of electric vehicle plants. Other forms of manufacturing are being brought back to the United States. Manufacturing is already strong and should get even stronger in 2023.”

Even with these opportunities, though, many contractors are expecting a wilder ride this year. According to the AGC survey, 36% of respondents said that they have had a project delayed or canceled and not yet rescheduled. A total of 13% had already experienced a delay or cancellation for a project scheduled in the first part of 2023.

with regard to labor. But the reputation of Michigan is built on labor, built on the notion that the people in the state want to work hard and want to contribute to something larger. That is one of the great perceptions of Michigan that remains.

With interest rates still high and inflation so stubborn, are people in the commercial real estate and business worlds worried about the economic uncertainty in the country?

McCauley: Businesses are looking for certainty. If they can look at 2023 and see an economic environment where they can have

confidence and certainty in their decision-making, I think they will be less worried. Volatility is never a friend of businesses. If inflation plateaus and decreases in 2023 and interest rates are doing the same, I anticipate that business activity will remain strong or even stronger coming in 2024.

Is there anything that the Michigan Economic Development Corporation is working on now that you are especially excited about?

McCauley: I continue to have tremendous pride in the leadership within this organization, the governor’s office and the state legislature around increasing Michigan’s role in the mobility sector. Michigan has a long history and reputation around mobility. As the mechanisms that

power mobility move to electric and into electric vehicles, we are shifting and evolving as a state. We are not here to work against the history of the automobile industry here but to evolve with it and move into new types of mobility and new types of autos. Along with that, we are growing a new and evolved 21st Century workforce that is multifaceted above and beyond autos. The skillsets that are required for that industry go beyond just the auto industry. We are helping our workforce move into other high-tech areas involving technology such as semiconductors and software, and that is an impressive thing to see. Whether you are in the public or private sector, your ability to adapt and evolve is the key to your growth.

Are you surprised at how quickly Michigan has accepted the electronic vehicle push?

McCauley: I think that when you are in the private sector, you are keenly aware of the marketplace. Your success is determined by how quickly you can adapt to that marketplace. No question that many consumers are seeking electric vehicles as a means to achieve greater fuel efficiency, greater energy efficiency and less impact on the landscape. Consumers are very good at communicating directly or indirectly to the private sector what they wish. The auto industry has done a great job in reacting to that.

“Contractors are optimistic about the construction outlook for 2023.”

2022 MIDWEST COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE

HALL OF FAME

Midwest Real Estate News would like to congratulate the latest inductees in our Commercial Real Estate Hall of Fame:

Brad Ashley Newmark Zimmer

Bill Barnes NAI DESCO

Mike Bell Hunt Midwest

Deno Bistolarides Encore Real Estate Investment Services

Alex Blagojevich MMG Real Estate Advisors

Keith Brandt Industrial Commercial Properties LLC

Daniel Cawley Cawley Chicago

Alicia Stoermer Clark Seldin, LLC

Kelly Diehl Cushman & Wakefield

Leah FitzGerald CBRE

Michael Glass Marcus & Millichap

Eric Greenfield Polsinelli

Stephen Griffith Jr. Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP

Ember Grummons Investors Realty

Susan Harvey Ashley Capital

Marilyn Herzberg Greywolf Partners, Inc.

Joseph Hil, CCIM, SIOR Colliers

Brett Hood Northmarq

Jon Jessup Colliers

Gib Kerr, CCIM Cushman & Wakefield

Cynthia Kratchman Mid-America Real Estate

Ross Lanford Colliers

Wonwoo Lee Oxford Companies

Jay Lerner The Lerner Company

Bill Maas, CCIM Block & Company, Inc

Adam Marshall, SIOR, CCIM Newmark

Suzet McKinney, Dr. Sterling Bay

Kimberly McMahon Colliers

Craig Miller, CPA, CGMA, CCSP Duffy+Duffy Cost Segregation

Larry Much, SIOR NAI Hiffman

Thomas Murphy Hiffman National

Steve Palec Irgens

Quintin E. Primo III Capri Investment Group

Ned Purtell, CCIM, SIOR Founders 3 Commercial Services, Inc.

Stephen Sandler Gould & Ratner LLP

Paul Schmidt Associated Bank

J.J. Smith CRG

Parker Stewart Northmarq

Jeff Stingley CBRE

Sheryl Vickers Select Sites, LLC

David Wilkins Walker & Dunlop

John Wilson HSA PrimeCare

BRAD ASHLEY Managing Director of Property and Facilities Management

Newmark Zimmer | Kansas City, Missouri

Numbers can tell a compelling story. And for Brad Ashley, Managing Director of Property and Facilities Management at Kansas City’s Newmark Zimmer, the numbers are especially strong.

Consider 15 million. Ashley today leads a team at Newmark Zimmer that maintains more than 15 million square feet of office, industrial, retail, non-profit and corporate headquarters property in the greater Kansas City market.

Another impressive number? During the last four years, Ashley and his team have doubled the square footage under management at Newmark Zimmer.

Much of this success is a credit to Ashley’s leadership. He oversees account relations, business development, property management, tenant relations and staff development matters at Newmark Zimmer. He’s also responsible for project and construction management, technical services, risk management and financial reporting.

When asked what he enjoys most about the commercial real estate business, Ashley says: “Building relationships with tenants and clients and solving complex real estate management challenges while delivering great outcomes for all stakeholders.”

Another reason for the team’s success can be traced to Ashley’s creative vision. During his career of more than 20 years, Ashley has developed into a top problem-solver. He’s willing to embrace innovative ideas, something that has led to the best possible outcomes for both property owners and the tenants who occupy these buildings.

The combination of Ashley’s background in asset management, construction, project supervision and budgeting and his creativity has helped Ashley and his team build a loyal roster of satisfied clients. All members of Ashley’s team focus on providing the best experiences for clients. That’s because Ashley takes time to mentor his team members. These members understand the importance of managing expenses proactively, which helps maximize the return on clients’ investments, and promptly responding to tenant concerns. Positive tenant-owner relationships are a priority for Ashley and his team.

“Earlier in my career, my abilities to organize, problem-solve and build relationships to correct property challenges was critical,” Ashley said. “Now my time is spent recruiting, developing and growing a strong property management team.”

Ashley is active in the local real estate industry. He volunteers with student outreach at the University of Kansas and the University of Missouri-Kansas City, seeking to share his experience and develop individuals with an interest in commercial real estate management. He is a frequent presenter at industry conferences and has been recognized as Certified Property Manager (CPM) of the Year by IREM’s Kansas City chapter. He is a member of the Academy of Authors through IREM’s Journal of Property Management.

Last year, Ashley was a keynote speaker at the REALTOR’s C5 event in New York City, where he presented the “Making the Deal -- How Owners, Brokers and Property Managers Can Collaborate for a Successful Lease Transaction” session. More than 400 participants attended this event.

In his spare time, Ashley enjoys being with his wife and two children, often coaching their sports teams. In the fall, he enjoys hunting wild birds in western Kansas. In the winter, you might find him in the mountains of the western United States skiing with friends.

Senior Vice President Mike Bell leads Hunt Midwest’s CRE division and is responsible for the overall growth and management of the company’s industrial leasing, property management, construction, mission critical and development services.

An architectural engineer by training, Bell has more than 27 years of experience in the construction, design and development aspects of CRE, including more than 12 years at Hunt Midwest, during which time the company’s commercial holdings have grown exponentially. He has overseen the company’s expansion into the Southeast U.S. and helped attract the first hyper-scale data center company to Missouri, which will be built on 300 acres at the Hunt Midwest Business Center.

For Bell, the most enjoyable part of the business is that it affords him the opportunity to work with businesses and people from many walks of life to find new ways to solve problems each day. “Every day is different,” he said. “You’re always solving a new problem, and I get to do it alongside some of the smartest, most creative experts in the industry.”

Under Bell’s leadership, SubTropolis, already the world’s largest underground business complex, has grown from 4.7 million square feet of space to more than 7.8 million square feet of space with plans to expand up to 14 million square feet in the coming decade. Bell was integral to the construction of SubTropolis Technology Center, a mission critical development with up to 100MW of power capacity. Bell also has led the company’s development of the 2,500-acre Hunt Midwest Business Center, which already includes 1.2 million square feet of space completed or under construction and will swell to 3.2 million total square feet once completed. He also is integral to the new 3,300-acre KCI 29 Logistics Park, which will include up to 20 million square feet of industrial space once built out.

What makes Bell a leader in the business? His key to success is listening, a skill he learned from a young age while helping in his parents’ gift shops. Solving customers’ problems to win their business was the focus, which is the mindset that remains at the core of his business today.

“Listening to others with more experience and expertise in a given subject to absorb their lessons and apply them to my work,” Bell said.” Listening without preconceived notions to what somebody wants to accomplish and working to find a solution that can help them meet their need, even when others say it will take too much time or is too hard. You never know who may have the right answer to a particular problem, so it’s critical to approach every day with the willingness to truly listen and learn.”

Bell is a member of the Society of Industrial and Office Realtors and previously served as chairman for the Associated Builders and Contractors. He’s also a member of the Kansas City Area Development Council, KC SmartPort, AFCO Mand 7x24 Exchange, CCIM, IMN and NAOIP. He previously served as chairman for the Church of the Resurrection Board of Trustees when the congregation undertook a $92 million expansion in Leawood, Kansas. Outside of work, Bell is likely playing hockey. “I have ice in my veins after growing up an avid hockey player in Michigan,” he said. “I’ve always been very competitive and still play center every week on an adult recreation league team here in Kansas City. As much as I love the speed of the game and the camaraderie of our team, I must admit there’s nothing better than setting up a teammate to score or putting the puck in the back of the net myself. But the best treat of all has been sharing the ice with my son, who joined our team recently.”

BILL BARNES Principal

A CRE professional of 17 years, NAI DESCO Principal Bill Barnes joined the company in 2011, after spending time with Vatterott Properties and Coldwell Banker Commercial.

Specializing in retail buyer/tenant representation, landlord representation, property disposition and investment sales, Barnes has been involved in over 500 transactions totaling more than $450 million in volume and has extensive experience helping clients navigate the complexities of municipal approval, permitting, planning and zoning and entitlements. He’s been responsible for the market rollouts of national and regional retailers including Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers, Tacos4Life, Sprint, Caliber Collision and Goldfish Swim School.

To his success, Barnes attributes two simple qualities—persistency and hard work. “I am a firm believer that hard work breeds luck,” he said. “I also believe putting the client first is what builds long-term relationships, and I have been fortunate to have many clients become close friends.”

Embracing technology that aids with market planning strategy and site selection for clients has also been instrumental in his success and has led to many awards within NAI DESCO. Barnes’ most rewarding part of his business is working with a wide variety of clients and learning what makes them successful. The process isn’t always easy, however gratifying it is to be a part of new store openings.

Still, Barnes prioritizes spending time with his wife and four young children, even coaching his sons’ hockey, soccer and baseball teams. He also enjoys fly fishing, duck hunting and traveling as much as possible.

He is a CCIM candidate and a member of both the ICSC and the St. Louis Association of Realtors.

DENO BISTOLARIDES Managing Partner

The first in the office and the last to leave. That’s how the colleagues of Deno Bistolarides, Managing Partner at Encore Real Estate Investment Services, would describe his work ethic. Throughout his 17 years in CRE, Bistolarides has made a positive impact throughout multiple facets of the real estate community and has played a pivotal role in the personal and professional development of countless young people.

Bistolarides spent most of his life in between Detroit, Michigan, and Toronto, Canada. After graduating from the University of Michigan and beginning his career in investment real estate as an intern at Marcus & Millichap, Detroit, he hit the ground running, quickly earning the firm’s Pacesetter Award, given to young agents that exhibit strong activity levels at the forefront of their career. The financial crisis of 2008—and the down market that ensued—was critical to his future success, enabling him to build strong relationships with clients and brokers alike.

In 2016, Bistolarides continued on to start Encore Real Estate Services alongside Brandon Hanna and Ryan Vinco, and though the firm had modest beginnings, Encore has expanded to over 40 agents with multiple offices across the U.S. The firm has set a year-over-year record for sales volume at collectively just under $1 billion in 2022.

Apart from the company’s measurable success, Bistolarides is known for fostering a spirit of cooperation, rather than competition, at Encore. “Reputation” is a simple word but attaining a positive one requires a complex set of standards, and Bistolarides did so amongst his business early on. It’s this cooperation among those he works with to which he credits his success.

“Without Brandon and Ryan and our agents, support staff, clients, colleagues and my mentors, nothing would be possible,” Bistolarides said. “The key to success is surrounding yourself with the right people but also staying consistent, grounded and operating with high integrity. We live in a world of instant gratification. Because of this, it’s easy to forget that success is not instant and is only achieved with a long view. As the old saying goes, ‘It’s a marathon, not a sprint.’”

Yet the business has resulted in more than success—it’s led to lifelong friendships, which he said is the most valuable part. “My favorite part of the business is the opportunities I’ve had to build relationships with people from across the world,” he said. “Deal making enables us to meet and connect with a diverse audience, and I’ve had the pleasure of making lifelong friendships throughout my career, which is something I wouldn’t trade for anything.”

CONGRATULATIONS, PAUL SCHMIDT!

We’re proud that Executive Vice President Paul Schmidt, Head of Commercial Real Estate and Facilities and Twin Cities Market President, has been selected as a member of of the Midwest Commercial Real Estate Hall of Fame for 2022 . As a proven veteran in the Twin Cities market, Paul is committed to making Associated Bank a stronger partner for our customers and community. Let’s build something better together at AssociatedBank.com/Commercial.

With nearly two decades of experience in the field, Alex Blagojevich has mastered the art of the deal. In a competitive space that has remained largely unchanged, he has garnered a reputation as someone who’s pragmatically innovative, determined and fiercely ambitious.

But perhaps what he’s best known for is his tenacity and ability to think strategically. Alongside MMG Co-Founder Michael Sullivan, Blagojevich has cultivated a company that’s credo and core values are embodied by words like “collaboration,” “passion,” and “teamwork.”

Founded in 2021, MMG Real Estate Advisors was born from a desire to step outside the box and do things differently. The firm has quickly amassed a talented team of advisors with a proven track record of success in more than 100 markets located across the U.S. It’s here that, with an ability to connect with people on a deeply personal level and a focus on helping others thrive, Blagojevich continues to inform the next generation of emerging talent. When asked about the most enjoyable aspect of the business, Blagojevich said just that: the people.

“Without a doubt, it’s the people—both being in a position to help others, and also having the ability to work with successful people,” he said. “Working with team members on their own professional development is something I’ve always been passionate about, and I really enjoy helping others learn and grow.”

The journey to success has not been easy, but for Blagojevich, it boils down to consistent execution, day in and day out. He said thoughtful annual planning coupled with the continual reinvestment in his own personal development has been essential, as has surrounding himself with people who share the same values.

When he’s not at work, Blagojevich enjoys spending time with his wife, Jessica, and their three children: Jordi (7), Rylee (5) and Tristan (2). He also likes exercising and reading about macroeconomic history and developing mental toughness, two of his favorite topics.

Cawley Chicago | Chicago, Illinois

The secret of Daniel Cawley’s success? It’s the same formula that’s worked for Cawley’s Chicago CRE firm, Cawley Chicago: He doesn’t disappear after a deal is done.

“Instead, we represent the client throughout the entire process, remaining accessible, sticking to the truth and doing what we say,” Cawley said.

This simple, but important, strategy has paid off. Cawley Chicago has thrived in the Chicago commercial real estate market since Cawley founded it in 1998. Cawley was inspired to make the big move to opening his own firm after seeing so many national real estate companies consolidating.

Cawley has long been a believer in the strength of personal relationships. He founded Cawley Chicago as a way to offer this personal touch to his clients. And the decision has paid off. Instead of worrying about satisfying shareholders, Cawley focuses on providing the best service to property and business owners. This has resulted in loyal and grateful clients.

Cawley’s work ethic and commitment to his clients has helped this industry veteran build a thriving career, too.

“The single best foundation my life provided are the simple values that my parents instilled in me: Do the right thing, even when people aren’t looking, and do what you say,” Cawley said. These beliefs have led to the five core principles of Cawley Chicago: Make a difference, be passionate, build integrity-based relationships, have fun and live a healthy lifestyle.

“I believe that there are no accidents in life and every event serves a purpose,” Cawley said. “Our company exists because a client funded me at a lunch in March of 1998. He believed in me more than I believed in myself.”

Cawley also points to the role that mentors have played in his life. These mentors taught him that leaders serve, both their industry and community. It’s why Cawley has spent so much time studying his industry and serving on industry associations.

This combination of passion and valuable lessons led Cawley to develop a CRE platform based on the old model of geographic- and product-specific submarket experts who would go door-to-door to meet every business and property owner in person. This approach is the backbone of Cawley Chicago’s culture, with Cawley referring to it as “street-level intelligence.”

As Cawley says, knowledge of individual submarkets is crucial in commercial real estate. This local knowledge gives Cawley Chicago an edge and has resulted in the company winning assignments. This approach has also allowed Cawley Chicago to become a trusted advisor to its clients.

“I love the collegial culture of this industry that allows us to compete hard against each other, yet we all collaborate to share market information and best practices that get deals done,” Cawley said. “The Chicagoland market is so deep that there is no way a single brokerage company knows all the information.”

When Cawley is not busy forging new relationships and orchestrating real estate transactions, he can usually be found on the golf course, working hard to maintain his single-digit handicap; at the gym; or supporting non-profits and industry associations.

Cawley says that he cherishes time with his family and friends while also deepening his leadership skills and offering his experience in founding, building and monetizing a business.

Industrial Commercial Properties LLC | Cleveland, Ohio

Keith Brandt is a problem-solver. This has served him well during a career in commercial real estate that has lasted more than 28 years.

But while Brandt’s analytical mind, stemming perhaps from his previous studies in engineering, has helped him build a thriving CRE career, this industry veteran is the first to admit that commercial real estate is not just a science. There’s an art to closing deals and serving clients, too.

Combining both sides of the business -- the analytical and the artistic -- is what has led Brandt to become one of the busier CRE professionals in the Cleveland market. “Real estate is not just a science. There is an art aspect that is critical,” Brandt said. “I feel that my ability to understand real estate from both a financial aspect but also from a psychographic perspective has been a critical factor in my career growth.”

Today, Brandt serves as executive vice president of Industrial Commercial Properties LLC in Cleveland and is busy spearheading a national initiative to identity redevelopment opportunities for regional malls and other retail properties.

Before joining ICP, Brandt was the managing director and market leader for CBRE’s Cleveland and Akron offices, where he was responsible for driving the growth strategy for all advisory service lines of business. During his tenure, these CBRE offices experienced record revenue growth.

He also previously worked as senior vice president of retail, office and residential leasing and asset management at Forest City Realty Trust. Under his leadership, Brandt’s team generated more than 300 transactions annually and annual revenue of $307 million for 28 retail properties.

“The most rewarding aspect of this business is creating meaningful change through real estate in the communities in which we live,” Brandt said. “It is very rewarding to start with a blank canvas and have the ability to change consumer behavior and local trends based on the transactions that you consummate.”

Brandt points to working with the public sector to develop real estate in blighted areas as some of the most rewarding work of his career. The resulting projects, he says, make a positive difference in their communities.

How has Brandt built such a successful career? It’s all about his willingness to learn from others.

“As I started in the commercial real estate industry, I attempted to be a sponge and absorb as much information and knowledge as I could early in my career,” Brandt said. “Even after more than 25 years, I continuously ask questions and am looking for ways to learn and expand my real estate knowledge base. I have always taken accountability for my career growth and felt it was critical to confirm that my career goals aligned with the career path that the company saw in me.” Brandt also pushed his employers for assignments and leadership opportunities that would help him grow his skillset. His goal? To always learn more about the industry.

“In a results-oriented business, it was critical to capitalize when these opportunities were presented,” Brandt said. “I learned very early that success comes from providing solutions regardless of the economic climate. ‘Leave the excuses at the door and bring solutions to the table.’”

Brandt doesn’t focus entirely on work, though. As he says, his family is always first, and his three children keep him and his wife busy. When he does have time away, one of Brandt’s biggest passions is fishing in the local Ohio rivers on the coldest winter days Northeast Ohio has to offer.

ALICIA STOERMER CLARK Chief Executive Officer

Perseverance. Hard work. Listening to others. And a willingness to always learn more about the industry. Those are the strategies that Alicia Stoermer Clark, chief executive officer of Omaha’s Seldin, LLC, has relied on to succeed in commercial real estate.

This formula has paid off. Today, Stoermer Clark is one of the top names in Omaha’s commercial real estate market, overseeing the entire Seldin operation. This includes guidance over multifamily and commercial property management, maintenance service, construction, compliance, consulting and brokerage activities.

Stoermer Clark has reached this milestone by serving as a trusted adviser to her clients, constantly adapting to the changes in the commercial real estate industry and by never letting anyone outwork her.

“Success in real estate is greatly impacted by establishing a strong network and applying a dedicated work ethic,” Stoermer Clark said. “The industry has times of prosperity but also down cycles. Persevering in both seasons is possible by continuously investing in relationships and yourself through knowledge growth.”

Stoermer Clark also credits her long career to her willingness to take on new duties, expand into areas of commercial real estate that are outside her expertise and participate in management opportunities. She also listens to others, learning from their expertise.

“I have been fortunate to work alongside great and diverse teams who brought tremendous value,” Stoermer Clark said. “I highly value keeping communication lines open and showing a willingness to acknowledge good works or accept constructive feedback. My willingness to absorb new information and use it toward expanding ideas and thoughts has opened additional paths forward.”

How dedicated is Stoermer Clark to her career? She spent nine years obtaining an MBA and then a PhD while also working full-time. She said that she pursued her education because she is passionate about learning. The skills she learned during this time, though, have been a great benefit as Stoermer Clark has advanced throughout her career.

Stoermer Clark has also found time to give back to her community and profession. She sits on the board of directors of the National Affordable Housing Management Association and is chair of that organization’s Education Foundation. She is an adjunct professor at the University of Nebraska-Omaha and Bellevue University, and currently serves as a Dissertation Committee Member in Bellevue University’s Doctorate of Business Administration Program.

“The greatest challenge is finding the balance between executing change and maintaining consistency,” Stoermer Clark said. “The industry has evolved during my 20-plus-year career. To keep up with industry needs and sustain competitiveness, it has been essential to be open and flexible. It’s also crucial to find consistency in service delivery while working to exceed expectations and upholding your reputation. Finding the balance between these two themes is a challenge, but presents the opportunity for self-reflection, knowledge transfer and skill enhancement.”

When not working, Stoermer Clark enjoys spending time with her husband, Steven, and their five children who range in age from 10 to 20. Her children are active in sports and outdoor activities, and these eat up the majority of Stoermer Clark’s non-work hours. The family also loves to travel and explore new places, especially in the mountains or near the ocean.

Cushman & Wakefield | St. Louis/Kansas City, Missouri

Cushman & Wakefield Managing Principal Kelly Diehl is a CRE, business and community leader in St. Louis and the only woman to lead a global commercial real estate services firm locally. She leads a team of more than 300 brokerage, property management, project management, valuation and other professionals who closed more than $1.34 billion in transactions in 2022 in St. Louis on more than 38 million square feet of commercial real estate. Additionally, she leads Cushman & Wakefield’s Asset Services business across the St. Louis and Kansas City regions.

Diehl’s career began at Turley Martin Company, a legacy Cushman & Wakefield firm in St. Louis, where she quickly rose to Senior Vice President. She also served as Managing Director of Altus Properties before assuming her current role in January 2020.

Among all the enjoyable parts of the business, to Diehl, one stands out above the rest. “Real estate is fascinating, and not all organizations realize the importance and nuances of it being a major component of their overall success,” she said. “It’s really gratifying to partner with them to develop and execute a strategy where they’re best positioned to achieve their business goals.”

She is a Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM), holds BOMA’s Real Property Administrator (RPA) designation and has served on the board and as President of BOMA St. Louis.

Perhaps the reason for continued success in the business? She never stops learning.

“I recognize I am not the most important or smartest person in a room,” Diehl said. “I focus on listening to understand what is important to each individual when working towards a goal and then parlay that into developing an action plan on how to move forward to achieve consensus. What’s more, there should be a constant evolution on how to improve best practices, rather than the ‘this is how we have always done it’ approach.”

Diehl also has the benefit of her involvement in multiple facets of the business, from operations to brokerage to asset management to human resources. The lessons and understanding that come from that perspective enhances how to better serve clients and lead Cushman & Wakefield’s St. Louis team.

Outside of Cushman & Wakefield, Diehl’s involvement in community organizations is expansive. She is a St. Louis Regional Business Council board member, sits on Greater St. Louis Inc.’s chair’s council and is a member of the St. Louis Forum. She is also on the American Heart Association’s Go Red committee and is a past board member of the Mary Ryder Home. After her son’s passing, Diehl and her family established a scholarship at Chaminade College Preparatory School, and she is involved with Wreaths Across America, an organization of Gold Star Mothers that works with thousands of schools, scout, civic and religious groups across the U.S. to place wreathes at veterans’ graves. She is especially involved in Wreaths Across America’s efforts at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery.

Furthermore, Diehl and her husband like to travel, and she is an avid reader. Her focus at the moment is taking horsemanship courses with the goal of having her own horse to enjoy.

LEAH FITZGERALD Managing Director, Market Leader

CBRE | Kansas City, Missouri

Leah FitzGerald didn’t take the straightest path to her current position as managing director and market leader with the Kansas City office of CBRE. No, her background includes stints as a licensed general contractor and an Imagineer at the Walt Disney Company. She also brings a background in corporate real estate, architecture and development to her role.

These career stops, though, have given her the knowledge and experience necessary to thrive in her current role. Working as an Imagineer at Walt Disney Company taught FitzGerald how important it is to capture the essence of a project by telling its story through the language of architecture and design. The more than 10 years she spent in estimating and project management taught her how complex the building process can be.

FitzGerald’s previous experience, has given her a holistic approach to the commercial real estate industry. This is important in FitzGerald’s current role, in which she oversees the operations of CBRE’s Kansas City office and leads its growth strategy. Her broad base of industry experience combined with her forward-thinking approach allows FitzGerald to deliver the best possible results to CBRE’s clients.

“I’ve never been afraid to try something new or reinvent myself,” FitzGerald said. “Having worked in design, construction, finance, and development has influenced and expanded how I approach the opportunities at CBRE. Through each of these experiences I’ve been fortunate to work with and learn from best-in-class leaders in Commercial Real Estate, and that has been invaluable.”

“Now at CBRE, I’ve found that being able to approach business through a multifaceted lens while at the same time using my creative side is enjoyable and rewarding.”

It’s not surprising that FitzGerald’s peers have recognized her CRE achievements. During her career, she has earned the Regional Leadership Award from the Women’s Leadership Initiative of the Urban Land Institute, was listed as a 40-under40 professional to watch by Engineering News-Record and was the 2022 recipient of the Women Who Mean Business award from the Kansas City Business Journal. FitzGerald has worked in commercial real estate since 1995, crafting a career that has so far spanned 28 years. What does she enjoy most about this business?

“There is so much about it that I love,” she said. “Being able to contribute in some way to the growth and development of our city, the thrill of cutting the ribbon and finishing a long project that required a large team of professionals, the joy of helping clients find solutions to their problems are all particularly rewarding.

“I’m grateful for having been a part of some really fun projects and also to have worked on so many different sides of CRE,” FitzGerald said. “Above all what I value the most are all the amazing people I’ve met and friendships I’ve made along the way.”

Despite her busy career, FitzGerald has found time to give back to her industry. She has been a member of Urban Land Institute (ULI) since 1995, and established and chaired the Women’s Leadership Initiative of the Kansas City chapter and served on ULI’s transportation committee. She is the president elect of Midtown KC Now and a member of the Young Presidents Organization.

When not working? FitzGerald describes her happy place as entertaining with family and friends. She also admits to being obsessive about her charcuterie boards and is always on the hunt for an interesting or unique type of cheese.

SUBTROPOLIS

SUBTROPOLIS TECHNOLOGY CENTER

MICHAEL GLASS Senior Vice President/Division Manager for the Midwest

Marcus & Millichap | Independence, Ohio

When Michael Glass took his first job at Marcus & Millichap in 2001, he had no idea of the heights he would reach at the commercial real estate firm. After all, back then Glass worked as an intern.

Today? He’s one of Marcus & Millichap’s most productive leaders, serving as senior vice president and division manager for the company’s Midwest division. In this position, Glass oversees 12 brokerage offices. He is also the national director of Marcus & Millichap’s manufactured housing division.

During his time with Marcus & Millichap, Glass has been involved with and overseen thousands of transactions totaling several billion dollars. He also led Marcus & Millichap’s first acquisition after its initial public offering.

What led Glass from an internship position to such a key vice presidency role at Marcus & Millichap? He points to a willingness to put in the work and study his markets.

“Like anything, becoming a true expert in your field is critical,” Glass said. “Market knowledge and hard work are two key ingredients. I would also stress the importance of genuine relationships with clients and peers. We are in a long-term marathon, not a short-term sprint. One of my first mentors once told me, ‘We are all walking in wet cement,’ meaning we are all leaving our footprints in life and business. Be mindful of the prints you leave.”

Glass’ hard work has paid off. He first joined the management team at Marcus & Millichap in 2006, when he was named sales manager of the company’s Chicago office. He was then promoted to regional manager of the Cleveland office in 2007 and took on the additional responsibility of managing the Columbus office in 2009 and the Cincinnati office in 2013. During this time, Glass led the Cleveland and Columbus offices to a surge in deal-making activity. The offices were so successful that each ranked as one of the top offices throughout the Marcus & Millichap network. And, Glass says, he has enjoyed it all. Glass is one of those lucky few who have found a career that they are not only successful in but is also one that they love.

“It all comes back to the love and art of doing a deal,” Glass said. “I think most brokers enjoy that aspect of the business. Once I moved into management, it changed to coaching, mentoring, and developing my team and relationships. I still get the thrill of the deal, but through the success of others.”

Because his career has lasted for more than two decades, Glass has had to work through several challenges in this business, everything from recessions to COVID.

But Glass hasn’t let these hurdles either dampen his love for commercial real estate or slow the success of the offices he oversees.

“I view any challenge as an opportunity,” Glass said. “As I look back, the Great Recession comes to mind. I had just arrived in Cleveland in 2007 as a brand-new regional manager. The office and agents were starting to get traction until the recession hit. As a newer manager, I was convinced this was our time to double down and attack the market to help serve our clients. While many brokers took time off, our team stayed focused. I am most proud of how we weathered that storm and came out, bigger, faster and stronger.”

While building a successful CRE career undoubtedly takes time, Glass has also managed to carve out a personal life. As he says, it’s important to have a healthy work-life balance. When he’s not working, he prefers to spend time with his three daughters (Madison 15, Chloe 13, Harper 9) and wife, Samantha. He says that the family loves traveling and anything that keeps them active.

ERIC GREENFIELD Real Estate Division Chair

| Chicago, Illinois

A trusted partner. That’s what Eric Greenfield, real estate division chair in the Chicago office of law firm Polsinelli, is to his long-time clients. And by sharing his industry knowledge to help his clients make the best real estate decisions, Greenfield has built a thriving legal career.

Greenfield focuses his practice on domestic and cross-border real estate transactions. He does this well, too: Greenfield’s honors include Lawyers in Real Estate Award (Connect CRE—2021, 2022), Real Estate Lawyers of the Year (Illinois Real Estate Journal) and Notable Gen X Leader in Accounting, Consulting and Law 2019, 2021(Crain’s Chicago Business). Greenfield also was included in The Best Lawyers in America for Real Estate Law, Ranked in Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business Up and Coming, Real Estate and Real Estate, Illinois.. He’s also amassed an impressive client list that includes developers, lenders, REITs, private equity firms, pension funds and real estate funds.

During his career, Greenfield has successfully closed transactions in eleven countries and 49 states, the District of Columbia, the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. He’s in demand thanks largely to his industry knowledge, commitment to his clients, work ethic and integrity. That knowledge part is especially important: Greenfield has extensive experience in structuring, negotiating and documenting all the facets of commercial real estate transactions, including acquisitions, dispositions, financings, joint ventures, fund and development work.

How varied is Greenfield’s career? His practice focuses on everything from student housing, office and industrial real estate to self-storage, healthcare, medical office building, life science, multifamily and hotel properties. He also advises clients on matters relating to seniors housing, mobile homes, retail and mixed-use properties.

Greenfield has worked in commercial real estate for almost two decades. Given that, what keeps him engaged in this business? He says it’s the people.

“I love the people I get to work with every day as there are so many different personalities in our business and commercial real estate is an interactive business,” Greenfield said. “I like that every day and every deal is different. I like that I am able to be a legal expert and provide true counsel for all parties involved in commercial real estate.”

A good example of Greenfield’s work? Since 2005, he has served as the go-to attorney for a real estate investment holding company whose gross asset value for its total portfolio is approximately $7.8 billion, with portfolio targets of $20 billion by 2023. He also represents one of the largest student housing companies in the country with properties at large Midwest, Southeast and Southwest universities. Eric helped steer a global vertically integrated real estate investment management company with more than $13 billion in assets across the United States, Europe and Latin America in the formation of an externally managed private REIT strategically designed to capitalize on the sector’s positive secular tailwinds through the delivery of state-of-the-art warehouse and distribution facilities to support the continued growth of e-commerce and supply chain resiliency. In addition, he represents a triple net lease REIT with more than $6.7 billion in total investments spanning entertainment, recreation and education.

This industry veteran’s knack for understanding his clients’ needs and finding the most efficient paths to achieve them is a key reason for Greenfield’s long-term success.

When not working, Greenfield prefers spending time with his wife and children and soaking in the sun in his home-awayfrom-home in Florida. As a Chicago sports fan, Greenfield makes his way to Blackhawks, Cubs and Bulls games during the year. Greenfield says that some who know him might say he is a self-proclaimed wine sommelier.

Block & Company, Inc., Realtors congratulates Bill Maas, CCIM on his induction into the Midwest Commercial Real Estate Hall of Fame.

Bill’s years of dedication and outstanding performance in commercial real estate is an inspiration to us all. Bill Maas, CCIM Vice President Block & Company, Inc., Realtors

HALL OF FAME - CLASS OF 2022

STEPHEN GRIFFITH JR. Partner, Real Estate

Named “Cincinnati Best Lawyers—Real Estate Lawyer of the Year” by the oldest and most respected peer-review publication in the legal profession, Steve Griffith represents lenders, real estate property developers, investors and corporate clients in multiple types of real property transactions.

Griffith’s responsibilities are vast. He collaborates with developers on acquisition, development and zoning matters, as well as handles litigation regarding property land disputes. Griffith oversees commercial contracts for construction, design and engineering, as well as specialized financing, loan workouts and property tax valuation proceedings. He also manages leasing issues for client retail, office and industrial properties.

Griffith has enjoyed success in the field for a few reasons. For one, he makes it a point to learn the role of each participant in the transactional, development and management aspects of real estate to propose what each needs to receive to unite in achieving a common goal.

“In dealing with participants in real estate transactions,” Griffith said, “I have strived to explain the applicable legal concepts in plain and simple language that participants who are not lawyers can understand. In negotiations, I’ve strived to address what is practical and ignore the theoretical.”

That’s not to say there haven’t been challenges along the way, and one of the greatest has been working with people who oppose development that would benefit a community, using the legal system for purposes for which it was not designed. Additionally, Griffith said another large challenge was navigating the financial crisis of 2006–2009 and dealing with the associated restructuring of leases.

Despite it all, he’s managed to lead his clients to the other side, and he’s enjoyed working in concert with other professionals in various disciplines to develop and redevelop real estate for the betterment of communities and those who are a part of them.

Griffith is certified by the Ohio State Bar Association as a Commercial Real Estate Specialist, and he is admitted to practice in the Courts of Ohio and the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio.

In addition to “Real Estate Lawyer of the Year”, Griffith has received many awards over his 40+ year career, some of which include Honoree, Ohio Super Lawyers, Past Honoree, Chambers USA and Leading Lawyers Honoree, Cincy Magazine, Corporate Lending, Real Estate. He’s also active in his community and has been involved with organizations like the Cincinnati Habitat for Humanity and Good Shepherd Catholic Montessori School.

Outside of work, Griffith enjoys taking long walks, playing vintage baseball and softball and touring.

EMBER GRUMMONS Investment Property Broker

Investors Realty, Inc. | Omaha, Nebraska

Of the 30 years Ember Grummons, CCIM, has worked in the commercial real estate market, 24 have been with Investors Realty in Omaha, Nebraska. An Investment Property Broker, Grummons has focused exclusively on investment sales since 2001 and has been the lead broker on some of the largest and most complex investment sale transactions in Omaha’s history.

Ember joined Investors Realty in 1999 from McGregor Interests, Inc. where he was responsible for leasing vacancies and selling buildings from LeGrande “Mac” McGregor’s portfolio. As he joined Investors Realty, Ember was drawn to investment sales and after a frustrating few years trying to pursue both leasing and investment sales, he decided to “take the plunge” and spend 100% of his time on investment sales. His risk paid off, in time becoming what he’s known for in the industry.

“I love what I do,” Ember said. “I love the niche I have created for myself, the clients and the types of projects I get to work on.”

He also enjoys the thrill of putting a deal together and getting a win for his clients. Ember’s colleagues agree that the niche suits his personality, as someone who is very focused and detail-oriented.

“When I come to the office in the morning, I have a plan for the day. I know what I need to do and in what priority. I work with people in different time zones, so I plan around that. I do the highest and best task first,” he said.

Outside of work, Ember spends time with his wife and his three children. He takes pride in ensuring he made it to his children’s recitals and baseball games over the years despite his hectic schedule. He loves to travel, especially to places like Colorado where he can ride vintage steam engines in remote mountain scenery. He also loves classic rock music and will often travel to see concerts by his favorite artists.

SUSAN HARVEY Senior Vice President

Susan Harvey recently reached an impressive milestone: her 25th year as senior vice president in the Detroit office of Ashley Capital, one of the largest privately held industrial developers in the United States, headquartered in New York City.

And these 25 years have been successful ones. During her tenure, Ashley Capital has built a Michigan portfolio that has grown from 3 million square feet to more than 22 million. The Detroit office now has a staff of 30 people.

What’s interesting, though, is that Harvey didn’t plan on building a real estate career. She earned a degree in criminal justice from Michigan State University in 1982 and a law degree in 1999. She graduated into a weak job market, and without many options, she took a position with a local multifamily housing developer.

To Harvey’s surprise, she enjoyed the work. This inspired her to remain in real estate, where she steadily took on more demanding positions. During her career, she has worked for Johnstown Properties in Southfield, Michigan; Cushman & Wakefield in Atlanta; Colliers in Melbourne, Australia; and PM Realty Group in Southfield.

“The best part of the business for me is the absolute absence of monotony,” Harvey said. “The challenges I face this week and this year will be different from the challenges I faced last week and last year.”

When Ashley Capital offered her the vice president position in 1996, Harvey was hesitant. She had no experience in industrial real estate. But Harvey took the jump. And the results speak for themselves, with Harvey calling the move the best career decision she has ever made.

“I’m pretty good at distilling large amounts of information down to essential and non-essential factors when making decisions. In other words, I’m not easily distracted by ‘noise,’” Harvey said. “Mostly though, I’ve been successful because Ashley Capital is run by two very smart guys, Rick Morton and Paul Rubacha. We recognize each other’s strengths and weaknesses and invest our time and energies accordingly.”

“Steps along the way that have contributed to my career success include getting a law degree, being broadly focused on all aspects of real estate, and surrounding myself with highly skilled people that I like spending time with,” Harvey said.

Despite the rigors of building a successful real estate career, Harvey also focuses on helping to improve the lives of others. This includes her work founding Adopt-A-Family at the beginning of her career. This organization provides food, clothing and gifts for children during the holidays. Organizations such as Alternatives for Girls, the Boys & Girls Clubs of America and Focus Hope have come to rely on Adopt-A-Family during the holiday season. Last year, Adopt-A-Family raised more than $55,000 and provided hundreds of people with food and gifts. Harvey also gets involved in political campaigns and will not hesitate to join a protest march for causes about which she feels strongly. Before the 2020 presidential election, she raised funds to install more than 35 billboards throughout the Detroit area aimed at increasing voter turnout.

Throughout her career, others have recognized Harvey’s talents. Crain’s Detroit Business named her one of its 2021 Most Influential Women in Michigan. She has also received awards from the Boys & Girls Clubs of America and was recognized as a leader for International Women’s Day.

When she’s not at work, Harvey spends much of her time with her family. But she also enjoys traveling, reading, music, biking and skiing. She is also what she calls a “very amateur” woodworker.

MARILYN HERZBERG President

Greywolf Partners, Inc. | Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Having spent most of her early career in commercial real estate focused on the Twin Cities, Marilyn Herzberg’s return to her home state of Wisconsin in 2005 allowed her to leverage the experience she gained in Minnesota and bring the professionalism and expertise that garnered her the position as President of Greywolf Partners, Inc. in 2017. Throughout her career, Herzberg has been fortunate to work in many different aspects of real estate, such as multifamily, construction, brokerage, property and asset management and development.

What Herzberg finds most enjoyable about the business is that no two days—or two deals—are the same, and she values the connections she has the opportunity to make each day.

“At the end of the day, real estate is a relationship business, and it’s a very small world,” Herzberg said. “You never know when you will run into someone that you’ve worked with in the past or dealt with in a lease or transaction. The excitement and the satisfaction come from finding real estate solutions for these clients.”

Highlights from Herzberg’s career include a $65 million office redevelopment, construction of Greywolf’s new Rincon 225 Apartments and disposition of over $200 million of assets. The key to her success? Taking advantage of opportunities early on, and the relationships she formed by doing so.

“I’ve been fortunate to have great mentors throughout my career, while also being raised with a ‘do what it takes’ mentality,” Herzberg said. “Being involved early in my career laid a strong foundation for me to grow. I was active in real estate organizations and held several leadership and board positions, allowing me to strengthen my leadership skills, grow my knowledge base and build a network of professionals and clients.”

Because of her mentors, Herzberg makes it a point to pay it forward. “People want to work for and with someone who listens and understands what they are facing, helps them accomplish their goals and puts them in a position to succeed,” she said. “This leads to successes throughout the company and has been the foundation on which we built Greywolf Partners.”

When Herzberg is not busy with her career, she enjoys time with her husband and adult sons, as well as reading, playing golf, traveling and walking their family dog, Crosby.

BRETT HOOD

Leveraging nearly two decades of experience in the biz, Colliers Executive Vice President Joseph Hill leads the Colliers St. Louis Investment Advisory Team, which provides a variety of commercial real estate services to meet clients’ needs. Combining a wealth of commercial real estate experience in valuation, appraisal, leasing and investment sales, Hill and his team take a comprehensive advisory approach to maximize the performance of their clients’ investments throughout the asset lifecycle.

Working with clients ranging from single property owners and banks to large REITS and Fortune 100 companies, Hill has completed assignments on all asset types and has developed strong relationships throughout the United States. Having completed over $1 billion in transactions comprising millions in square feet, Hill has been named Colliers St. Louis’ perennial Top Producer, and his dedications to service excellence and client relationships regularly earns him a spot in the Everest Club, Colliers’ award for the top 10% of brokerage, valuation and corporate solutions professionals in the U.S. based on revenue production.

Prior to joining Colliers, Hill was a Director at Gateway Commercial, an affiliate of Cushman & Wakefield in St. Louis, after focusing on user/occupier services at Block Hawley Commercial Real Estate, commercial real estate brokerage at Coldwell Banker Commercial, and appraisal/ valuation services at R.A. Buckles and Associates. It’s this multifaceted experience that has contributed to his success today, but he’s faced plenty of challenges along the way.

“2008 to 2010 was tough,” Hill said. “There was almost nothing going, and I had to get creative to make a living in CRE by doing appraisal work, which turned out to be a valuable experience.”

And his favorite part of the business? Developing a unique expertise to help people achieve their goals.

Hill is a Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM) and a member of the Society of Industrial and Office Realtors (SIOR), the National Association of Realtors, the St. Louis Association of Realtors and the U.S. Green Building Council.

Outside of his work with Colliers, Hill is a past nationally ranked competitive road cyclist, and still enjoys all things outdoors. He currently volunteers with his family at Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern Missouri.

Managing Director of Northmarq’s Chicago office, Brett Hood is responsible for providing clients with creative financing solutions on behalf of the firm’s direct relationships with Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, FHA, life company correspondents, commercial banks and CMBS lenders.

A University of Madison-Wisconsin alum, Hood is a CRE veteran of over two decades and has extensive knowledge financing all property types nationwide for an array of capital providers. His career began in CMBS lending, spending nine years with firms like Credit Suisse, Nomura, CW Capital, and Guggenheim Partners. He spent the next 15 years in capital markets lending, overseeing $8 billion in loan originations, and he spent six years with Freddie Mac’s multifamily division most recently serving as Director of Production.

But the transition from lending to his current role in mortgage banking was challenging. It required Hall to effectively start over building his own book of clients from scratch with the fear of the unknown, but it turned out to be the best career decision he’s ever made. It was this experience that laid the foundation for his continued success, among many other factors.

“I was fortunate to learn from some of the best mentors early in my career and gain incredible exposure to all aspects of the business,” Hood said. “I’ve been successful leveraging my 15 years of agency and capital markets lending experience to my current role in debt advisory/placement. My unique perspective across mortgage credit, underwriting, pricing, legal, and agency guidelines enables me to successfully navigate the deal process providing my clients with the very best terms, execution and service.”

Hood was awarded Rookie of the Year and currently serves as the only Northmarq employee on Freddie Mac’s Advisory Council. He’s also a member of Northmarq’s Production Committee. Outside of work, Hood enjoys traveling, playing golf and spending quality time with his family.

Colliers | Indianapolis, Indiana

How successful has Jon Jessup been during his 28-year career in commercial real estate? Just look at the honors he’s earned during these years.

At Colliers, where he is an executive vice president, Jessup is a leader and part of the Indianapolis office’s top-producing team

In the seven years he has been affiliated with Colliers this industry veteran has been a four-time inductee of the Colliers Everest Club, a club for the top 10% of Colliers brokers based on revenue in a given year.

Today, Jessup specializes in Central Indiana real estate and global corporate solutions serving life science, law firm, professional services, manufacturing and logistics companies. During his career, Jessup has built a deep roster of loyal clients.

One of the reasons for his success? Jessup cites his Indiana University MBA in finance and years of experience. Jessup’s strong financial background, along with his attention to detail, gives him an advantage during transaction negotiations, execution and delivery. And it allows him to give his clients the best possible service.

“I maintain a longer-term relationship mindset with clients, co-workers and industry partnerships,” Jessup said. “Having a trusting circle of experts to tap into is important, too. In the commercial real estate industry, having a strong financial acumen and attention to detail is important. And frankly, being someone others like to work with -- pleasant, dependable, respectful and insightful -- helps, too.”

Like the most successful CRE veterans, Jessup doesn’t limit his practice to any one geographic area. He shares his site analysis, financial advice and transaction work with clients across the country and globe. His grasp of different countries’ protocols, cultural nuances and real estate requirements is unique for a brokerage professional. This experience allows his clients to benefit from a wide variety of real estate concepts and ideas.

Although his career is nearing three decades, Jessup says that he is still eager to get to work each morning. That love of his job is yet another reason for his success.

“I enjoy the project variety and working with people,” Jessup said. “I enjoy being an integral participant in projects that are not ‘cookie cutter,’ identifying key project nuances and determining how best our team can approach those elements to make the best impact on the client’s behalf.”

When he’s not serving his clients, Jessup spends most of his time with his family. He has three children who are active in a wide range of activities, so Jessup spends much of his free time attending those events. And when he really needs a break? He’ll play golf and travel.

GIB KERR, CCIM Managing Principal

Cushman & Wakefield | Kansas City, Missouri

Named “Urban Hero” by the Downtown Council in 2008, Managing Principal Gib Kerr is not only the leader of Cushman & Wakefield in Kansas City, but he’s been a catalyst and evangelist for Downtown Kansas City’s revitalization for the past three decades.

In the past decade-plus, Kerr has brokered downtown land and property transactions that have led to more than $1.1 billion in new development and include nearly 2,200 new apartment units; nearly 700 new/redeveloped hotel rooms; and more than 1 million square feet of redeveloped office space, including the Power & Light Building, the “Flashcube” Building and the recent West Bottoms portfolio sale of a seven-building, 871,000-square-foot office/creative redevelopment of brick and timber warehouses. Additionally, Kerr is leading brokerage efforts at Berkley Riverfront, where he assembled and brokered land transactions for the Kansas City Current’s new 11,500-seat soccer stadium.

The “before” and “after” experience of seeing blighted urban properties return to life is his favorite part of the job, as Kerr has always been “all in” for Downtown Kansas City.

“I was ‘downtown’ when downtown wasn’t cool,” Kerr said. “I believed it would come back, and I dedicated my energy to be a part of it and focused my business practice on redevelopment projects. It’s incredibly rewarding to see our efforts bearing fruit as Downtown Kansas City has emerged as one of the best in America.”

Kerr has served as President of the Kansas City Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM) chapter, is on the boards of the Downtown Council and the Kansas City Area Development Council and is a member of ULI. His numerous community and philanthropic commitments include serving for Children’s TLC, a leading provider of educational and therapeutic services to developmentally disabled children in Kansas City.

When Kerr is not working for Cushman & Wakefield or serving the community, he’s working for himself—as an author. He published his first novel this year (States of Rebellion, Bombardier Books) and is already working on his second. Aside from writing, Kerr is an avid hunter and outdoorsman, and he enjoys spending time with family, which has expanded to include five grandchildren.

CYNTHIA KRATCHMAN Principal

Mid-America Real Estate | Bloomfield Hills, Michigan

Cynthia Kratchman, Principal at Mid-America Real Estate, boasts over three decades of experience and is a graduate of Wayne State University, with a Master’s Degree in Education. She specializes in tenant representation, entertainment, and prominent landlord leasing.

For Kratchman, the best part of the job is that it’s forever changing. “The business of real estate mirrors our lives,” she said. “Real estate follows the movement of society, and I have enjoyed learning what these tenants and businesses need to succeed as trends come and go. We never really know what awaits us the next day.”

Yet, that’s also what makes the job challenging. Commercial real estate was entirely different than it is today, and it’s taken time to reach her current success.

“Retail Brokerage was a male-dominated business, heavy on mall developers and mall retailers, with very few women at all,” Kratchman said. “As strip, power and neighborhood centers evolved, so grew the pool of newly built centers and those that service them. During that era, I switched from a paid teaching position to an entirely different commission-based position. People showed confidence in me along the way, and I felt empowered—although poor!”

The guidance of others early on helped pave the road to success, and Kratchman has made it a point to pay it forward.

“I would have never achieved what I have were it not for some really great mentors who believed in me, “she said.

“These are people that saw potential in me that I was not prepared to see in myself. That’s why I try to pay it forward and be available for the next generation. Some twenty years later, I’m still working with one of my mentees at Mid-America Real Estate Group in Michigan. My door is always open.”

And a lot can be said about her persistence and commitment to the craft. Kratchman spent much of her time reading, going to conferences, networking and working, and now she’s one of the best in the business. She’s a natural at working with a full range of retailers, from box to boutique tenants, and she’s closed well over 1,000 deals during her career. Additionally, Kratchman is skilled in executing expansion plans and securing sites for high-profile retailers entering the market.

Kratchman has many professional affiliations and is deeply involved in the International Council of Shopping Centers or ICSC, a trade organization that represents all aspects of retail real estate. She has held positions from State Director to Central Division Government Relations Co-Chair to Central Division P3 Co-Chair and was recently part of a leadership team in 2022 that redefined the direction and goals for the ICSC Volunteer Leadership Program. Currently, she serves nationally on the ICSC Economic Sub-Committee and the ICSC Community Enhancement Advisors. She also received the ICSC Trustees Distinguished Services Award, awarded to only a few over the council’s history.

When she’s not working, Kratchman enjoys spending time with her husband, family and friends, attending cultural events, cooking, and supporting the City of Detroit. “Through good times and not so good times, I support the arts, and I enjoy all the new restaurants,” she said. “The most exciting piece is that now, as the city has come back, I am thrilled to be working to bring some exciting new retailers and entertainment users to the city!”

WONWOO LEE

During a career that hasn’t yet reached 10 years, Oxford Companies’ Wonwoo Lee has already generated some impressive numbers.

Such as? He has already completed more than $500 million in real estate transactions in both commercial leasing and investment sales.

With that type of production, it’s not surprising that Lee won a 2020 CoStar Power Broker award as a top office leasing broker in the Detroit region.

“Wonwoo oversees the asset management of the largest commercial real estate portfolio in Ann Arbor, and Oxford wouldn’t be what it is without his hard work and dedication to integrity and excellence,” said Jeff Hauptman, chief executive officer of Oxford Companies. “Wonwoo positively contributes to the CRE industry’s reputation because of his collaborative, friendly spirit and his genuine desire to make our community a better place for all of us.”

That community spirit is clear in the work Lee does for the City of Ann Arbor. He serves as a City Planning Commissioner for the city, currently serving his second term. In this role, he reviews and applies Ann Arbor’s Unified Development Code for proposed developments in the city.

Lee also serves as Transportation Commissioner for the City of Ann Arbor, focusing on economic development, strengthening non-motorized transit and promoting accessibility as a metric in public policy.

Finally, Lee serves on a subcommittee tasked with refining Ann Arbor’s comprehensive plan, which will consolidate the city’s current master-planning documents.

“I most enjoy building meaningful relationships with the community and improving our built environment,” Lee said.

“Solving complex real estate issues with diverse stakeholders is challenging but always rewarding. I enjoy making deals happen and putting space to productive use with the creation of jobs, placemaking and effective adaptive re-use.”

When asked about his success, Lee is quick to share the credit.

“Nothing can be done without a strong team,” he said. “My success is due to my mentors and community and surrounding myself with the best crew members. I like to focus on service above all else, with genuine curiosity and empathy about others, and delivering excellence and grace in everything that we do.”

Lee has also achieved success by conquering his biggest challenges. That includes time management, something that is essential considering that Lee’s team works with more than 400 commercial office, retail and industrial tenants.

Another challenge? The COVID-19 pandemic. During the pandemic, Lee and his team had to restructure contracts to ensure that they were able to stabilize their local restaurants, yoga studios, gyms and other businesses during the shutdowns. The team pivoted its portfolio to drive value and minimize risk.

“From the public service side, one of my greatest challenges is helping to write effective zoning ordinance that balances environmental sustainability, social justice and economic feasibility,” Lee said. “It’s important to assess policy trade-offs and listen to all stakeholders and public commenters knowing that we won’t be able to make everyone happy, but that we still have to write the most effective, equitable, just, accessible and resilient zoning ordinance language.”

When not at work, Lee enjoys playing the piano and hitting the golf course. You might also find him outside taking his dog Louie on a walk or run.

ROSS LANFORD Senior Executive Vice President + Principal

Colliers | Columbus, Ohio

As Senior Executive Vice President and Principal at Colliers | Greater Columbus Region, Ross Lanford specializes in office leasing, investment sales, development and buyer/tenant representation.

Through his experience in brokerage, property ownership and asset management, Lanford has been able to offer his clients insight that has helped evaluate both purchase and lease opportunities from all perspectives. His understanding of the market activity is a valuable resource to his clients, as he and his team currently handle the leasing for more than eight million square feet of Class A and B office space throughout Central Ohio. Over the course of his 15-year career, Lanford has completed transactions totaling more than $1 billion in value.

Before joining Colliers, Lanford most recently spearheaded his own venture of Superior Real Estate Advisor/Superior Shot Sales specializing in redevelopment projects and loan workouts, while splitting time between Columbus and Charlotte, North Carolina. Prior to that, he was with Alterra Real Estate in Columbus, working directly with buyers, sellers and tenants in completing all stages of the commercial sales and leasing process.

Despite his success, Lanford has faced obstacles throughout the years. Challenges are inevitable, and he said it’s important to be prepared for setbacks and disappointment. No deal is finished until everything is signed and funds have transferred.

“Even then, sometimes things can go wrong that are out of your control, such as zoning not getting approved or tenants’ businesses suffering an unexpected loss,” Lanford said. “You must have thick skin in this business and never get too up or down.”

Each lesson Lanford has learned through navigating these challenges has been beneficial, but his success has stemmed, also, from building his business upon strong relationships with his clients and colleagues. “These relationships allow me to find solutions to any need my clients have,” he said. “I’ve also built a team of likeminded individuals with the enthusiasm to grow relationships and keep our business growing.”

Relationship building is also his favorite part of the job, and he’s developed many long-standing friendships over the years as a result.

When not at work, Lanford is likely spending time with his family, traveling or playing golf.

A true legend? You can claim that title when you’ve logged more than 50 years in the commercial real estate industry. And Jay R. Lerner, president of Omaha’s The Lerner Company, has done this, forging a career that has lasted more than five decades.

It’s been an especially successful career, too. Lerner, a shopping center specialist, has been involved in the development, leasing and management of more than 70 shopping centers and mixed-use developments in a six-state area.

Lerner can trace his involvement in shopping centers to 1973. The Lerner Company opened its first project in 1985. Today, The Lerner Company has developed nearly 3.45 million square feet, and its portfolio includes shopping centers in Nebraska, Iowa and Wisconsin.

What’s behind this success? Lerner points to the people with whom he works.

“I am successful because of the quality of people I surround myself with, from the partnerships and relationships in the industry that I have formed and, most importantly, my partner, Sal Carta, and all of my associates at The Lerner Company,” Lerner said. “The Lerner Company was founded on the principles of trust and teamwork to provide our clients with a quality, experienced approach required to achieve their goals. A good team is the key to success.”

Lerner and his company have made an especially big impact in the Omaha area. The Lerner Company’s projects here include West Village Pointe, a 145-acre mixed-use development; Shadow Lake Town Center, an 870,000-square-foot regional center; Settler’s Creek, a 250,000-square-foot retail center; and Eagle Run, a 412,000-square-foot regional shopping center.

The Lerner Company’s brokerage services are making an impact in the Omaha region, too, representing an extensive portfolio of retail space and providing tenant representation services to more than 50 national retail chains. These big-name clients include Top Golf, Dick’s Sporting Goods, PetSmart, Five Below, Verizon and Chick-Fil-A.

Despite these success stories, Lerner and his company have faced challenges. That’s to be expected for someone who’s worked in commercial real estate for more than 50 years.

The key, though, is that Lerner and his company have faced these challenges and overcome them.

“The greatest challenges I have faced are not from specific projects, but from the country and world,” Lerner said. “A global pandemic, inflation, unemployment, they all create many obstacles such as financial development challenges, supply chain issues and more. The other major challenge is that time kills deals.”

Lerner, though, has never let these challenges dampen his passion for both commercial real estate and for providing the best results for his clients. As he views it, working through these challenges is what a successful CRE professional must do.

“I enjoy working through all the challenges and issues that come with every project to ensure a satisfactory outcome for all parties involved,” Lerner said.

And when this industry veteran isn’t working? He is an avid cyclist and a collector of unique and rare cigars.

BILL MAAS, CCIM Vice President

Block & Company, Inc. | Kansas City, Missouri

“Helping people bring deals together.” That’s what Bill Maas, CCIM, said is his favorite part of the job, and to say he does it well is an understatement.

Maas joined Block & Company in 2010. Maas started his career through the encouragement of the late William Glasgow and David M. Block, President of Block & Company, Inc., Realtors. Prior to joining Block & Company, Inc., he spent 10 years in the NFL playing for the Kansas City Chiefs and Green Bay Packers. He made First Team All Pro twice and was the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year. During his playing days, Maas was a radio and TV personality, which carried over after playing as we went on to broadcast nationally for 12 years with Fox Sports—all while accumulating his own portfolio of properties, like rental houses, industrial/warehouse facilities, storage units and small retail strips.

The transition into real estate was natural. Maas’s leadership skills carried over from the field to the office, and he was awarded his Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM) designation in October 2015, which recognizes experts in commercial real estate brokerage, leasing, asset management, valuation and investment analysis.

Yet, Maas has faced his fair share of challenges—especially during COVID-19, but he was able to successfully navigate his business when the world went remote.

He is a member of the National Association of Realtors, Kansas City Regional Area Realtors and Retail Brokers Network. He works closely with Eastern Jackson County Economic Development and the Missouri cities of Lee’s Summit, Independence, Raytown and Kansas City.

Outside of commercial real estate, Maas is an active member of the Kansas City Chiefs Ambassadors who promote goodwill through the Kansas City area working in conjunction with the Kansas City Chiefs to serve many charitable organization and work directly with Big Brothers Big Sister of Kansas City, The University of Kansas Hospital Camp Quality of Kansas City, Kids TLC, and other local programs. He’s also an outdoor enthusiast and enjoys time hiking, skiing, hunting, fishing and golfing.

In the film “Shawshank Redemption,” Morgan Freeman’s character is identified as “a man who knows how to get things”. In Chicago, that man is Larry Much.

Larry knows everyone and everything there is to know about commercial real estate in Chicago. Not only does he have the connections, expertise and history, Larry will bend over backward to use everything at his disposal to help clients, friends, people he just met - anyone and everyone, reallyto get results.

He’s got a wry, self-effacing sense of humor, but don’t let it fool you: Larry is experienced, connected, knowledgable and effective. He’s the one who gets things done.

Congratulations from all your friends at Hiffman!

Newmark | Chicago, Illinois

During a commercial real estate career that has stretched nearly two decades, Newmark’s Adam Marshall has built a reputation as one of the most knowledgeable and dedicated industrial specialists in the Chicago market.

Marshall’s peers say that this industry veteran has an uncanny ability to close even the toughest deals. They also cite his in-depth knowledge of the industrial sector, commitment to his clients and relentless work ethic as just three of the reasons for his success.

It’s not surprising, given Marshall’s standing in the industry, that he now boasts a roster of loyal and satisfied clients. His clients know that Marshall will never be outworked, and that no one has a better track record of guiding clients to the best possible outcomes.

Marshall has his own thoughts on his career. He says that one way to stay busy in the commercial real estate industry is to always adjust to the changes in this business.

“Becoming familiar with change is an important attribute to be successful in commercial real estate,” Marshall said.

“Also, being seen as a trusted advisor and developing strategies to stay ahead of the market while remaining focused on the most desirable outcomes is also important. Success requires attention to details, listening, reading, learning from mentors, getting involved with professional and civic organizations and enthusiasm and respect for the work we do every day.”

What has kept Marshall in this industry for 20 years? Marshall is one of the lucky ones: He not only excels in his profession, he also loves what he does.

“What I enjoy most is creating the best solutions and outcomes based on creative problem-solving, market expertise and the long-term relationships built with both clients and the commercial real estate community,” Marshall said. Like all commercial real estate veterans boasting long careers, Marshall has faced challenges. The key, though, has been that Marshall has faced these challenges head-on. He didn’t hide nor run away from them.

“The greatest challenges in this business tend to occur in times of uncertainty,” Marshall said. “Whether it was the Great Recession, pandemic or global supply chain disruptions, these situations changed the momentum of the market. Staying optimistic and informed helps guide you through these periods of change, and there tends to be tremendous opportunity that follows.”

Marshall hasn’t hesitated to contribute to the commercial real estate industry, either. He has held board positions with the Association of Industrial Real Estate Brokers, an organization that he served as president in 2017; and the Society of Industrial and Office Realtors’ Chicago chapter, where he has been a board member since 2019 and for which he served as president in 2021.

Outside of the office, Marshall says that he enjoys traveling to new places, sailing and spending time with his family and friends. He also supports several Chicago based philanthropic organizations, including Big Shoulders Fund and Bear Necessities Pediatric Cancer Foundation.

DR. SUZET MCKINNEY Principal and Director of Life Sciences

Sterling Bay | Chicago, Illinois

Dr. Suzet M. McKinney is a public health expert, medical executive, thought leader, strategic thinker and nationally recognized expert in emergency preparedness and response.

As Principal and Director of Life Sciences for Sterling Bay, McKinney oversees relationships with the scientific, academic, corporate, tech and governmental sectors involved in the life sciences ecosystem. She previously served as CEO and Executive Director of the Illinois Medical District where she managed a 24/7/365 environment that included 560 acres of medical research facilities, labs, a biotech business incubator, universities, raw land development areas, four hospitals and more than 40 healthcare-related facilities. Within two years of leadership, McKinney accomplished a financial turnaround of the IMD, successfully retiring more than $40 million in debt.

In 2020, McKinney was appointed by Illinois Governor JB Pritzker as Operations Lead for the State of Illinois’ Alternate Care Facilities, a network of alternate medical locations designed to decompress the hospital during COVID-19. She worked with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and multiple construction, architecture and project management teams to prepare five facilities to open for overflow patient care.

McKinney is also experienced on camera and has frequently discussed healthcare disparities and racial inequities amplified by the pandemic, climate-related emergencies, biological and chemical threats and natural disasters. She’s been featured on CNN, ABC, NBC Nightly News, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Crain’s Chicago Business and The Chicago Tribune.

Though McKinney has only worked in CRE, formally, for two years, she enjoys being able to leverage her experience in science/research, public health and healthcare in the business, but it’s just one of the factors that have contributed to her success at Sterling Bay.

“I’ve been successful in the business because I’m determined to show that I have something to offer,” McKinney said. “Because of my former roles, I have an ability to relate to and understand our clients and offer them familiarity and comfort. Most of all, I work for a phenomenal company that stands behind me in my efforts to be successful. Finally, I try to be prepared for every situation and have dedicated time to more formal study of the field to augment the skills and expertise that I’ve brought with me from my longtime career in public health and healthcare.”

McKinney said the coursework regarding the financial aspects of the field has been her greatest challenge to date. She said, “For someone who is relatively new to the field, calculating the value of a lease is not for the faint of heart!”

McKinney also serves on numerous boards and advisory committees in the community. Current board memberships include the Board of Directors for Wintrust Financial Corporation, Lurie Children’s Hospital, , Thresholds, and the Chicago Urban League. She is Co-Chair of the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) and Health and Medicine Division’s Forum on Medical and Public Health Preparedness for Disasters and Emergencies. Additionally, McKinney serves on the Science and Security Board for the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists and is the former Chairperson of the Board of Scientific Counselors for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, Center for Public Health Preparedness and Response. She is a member of The Chicago Network and the Economic Club of Chicago.

In her free time, McKinney loves visiting new restaurants, spending time with friends—laughing and enjoying each other’s company—and watching her daughter play water polo.

CRAIG MILLER, CPA, CGMA, CCSP President, Managing Partner

Duffy+Duffy Cost Segregation | Cleveland-Columbus-Detroit

Since 2007, Craig Miller has built a reputation as one of the most knowledgeable and trusted cost segregation study consultants in the Midwest.

This is a big deal: By using cost segregation strategies, commercial real estate developers and investors can significantly lower the income taxes they pay each year for their owner occupied or investment properties. Miller, then, is a key ally for real estate investors who want to boost their bottom lines and free up more cash flow to invest in additional properties.

Miller, a Certified Public Accountant, the company president and the managing partner at Duffy+Duffy Cost Segregation, brings a wealth of tax knowledge to his current position. He is a former tax commissioner agent for the State of Ohio and a past adjunct faculty instructor of accounting and finance at Cleveland State University and Lorain County Community College.

Armed with this knowledge, Miller helps to educate taxpayers and their advisors about the complex and changing tax codes that commercial real estate developers and owners must navigate. His knowledge and passion for saving the tax dollars of commercial real estate investors has helped Miller build a steady stream of repeat clients.

Miller credits the cost segregation professionals who staff Duffy+Duffy’s offices in Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio, and Detroit, Michigan, with boosting the company’s success.

“We’ve now worked in 40 states, in France, in Germany and in St. Thomas,” Miller said. “We get a large number of new clients who are referred by existing clients each year. Working closely with CPAs and tax advisors for their clients’ real estate acquisitions and their construction tax planning is exciting. We look forward to new and complex challenges every day.”

This success doesn’t mean that Miller hasn’t faced challenges in his career. He has, and he has overcome them. A good example is the Great Recession that devastated commercial real estate and hit Duffy+Duffy hard in 2008.

“We didn’t know what the future of real estate was going to be,” Miller said. “My wife and I were raising four young children and there were no cost segregation study engagements coming in.”

But Dennis Duffy, the company’s founder, assured Miller that the real estate industry would come back strong.

“And he was absolutely right,” Miller said. “Our company’s post-recession growth was tremendous, and the growth that we’ve seen in the last five years has been remarkable.”

Despite his busy career, Miller has found time to give back to his profession. He has been a NAIOP of Ohio Board Director since 2009 and was recognized as NAIOP Member of the Year for Northern Ohio. He is currently serving his second appointed term on the NAIOP Commercial Real Estate Finance and Tax Subcommittee in Washington, DC.

Miller is also a former chapter board director of the U.S. Green Building Council and serves on the State of Ohio U.S. Green Building Council Regional Leadership team.

Outside of work, Miller enjoys golf and baseball, and is an especially ardent fan of his hometown Cleveland Guardians. He also enjoys watching his two daughters compete in NCAA College Fastpitch Softball.

KIMBERLY MCMAHON Regional Operations Manager

Colliers | Southfield, Michigan

Kimberly McMahon is widely recognized as a go-to operations expert in the Colliers network. As her peers say, McMahan has the uncanny ability to get things done.

Just ask Paul Choukourian, executive managing director and market leader for Colliers metropolitan Detroit.

“She gets things done that no one thought possible and has made our offices run like a well-oiled machine,” Choukourian said. “She expects a lot out of everyone but also has created an amazing culture with the staff.”

McMahon has been involved in commercial real estate since 1999, when she served as vice president and senior business operations manager with the Grubb & Ellis Detroit office. Before 1999, McMahon spent 21 years in Central Florida, spending 12 of those as business manager for a media mergers and acquisition firm.

McMahon has managed operations of international commercial real estate branches since 2000 and in 2011 was recruited to Colliers to administer operations for the firm’s Southfield, Ann Arbor and Birmingham, Michigan, locations. She directly oversees a staff of 18 people within an office of more than 110 people and a budget of between $35 million and $50 million.

“I love the people I work with,” McMahon said. “Colliers is an excellent firm combining old-school brokerage with cutting-edge technology. The platform is so diverse and constantly improving.”

McMahon’s responsibilities include ensuring that Colliers maintains enough employees to keep up with growth. This is no easy task: The company’s transactions are valued at more than $1.7 billion each year.

How does McMahon juggle the work involved in overseeing this always-growing company? She points to the importance of treating everyone she encounters with respect.

“I believe this applies to any industry: We treat everyone with the same care and attention, from our staff, our brokers and our managers to our clients,” McMahon said. “I really enjoy giving everyone whatever tools they need to succeed and treating them all with the utmost respect.”

Throughout her long career, McMahon has faced challenges. That’s not unusual for any CRE professional who has logged a long career in this competitive and often-difficult industry.

The key, though, is that McMahon has worked through these challenges, mostly by relying on her tireless work ethic and her ability to find solutions to even the biggest challenges.

“Any downturn in the economy creates special challenges,” McMahon said. “The COVID shutdown was unique, and oftentimes staffing is difficult.”

When not at work, McMahon prefers to spend her time with her sons and grandson. She enjoys reading and gardening and will be coaching in the Special Olympics this fall.

LARRY MUCH, SIOR Executive Vice President, Industrial Services

NAI Hiffman | Greater Chicago Area

Lawrence (Larry) R. Much is an Executive Vice President and founding Principal of NAI Hiffman specializing in industrial real estate including building sales, tenant representation, corporate relocation, build-to-suit analysis and consulting. After graduating from Drake University and beginning his career in commercial real estate in 1987, Much has honed his skill for negotiating lease agreements and purchase/sale contracts for warehouses, manufacturing plants, office buildings and vacant land across the U.S. and has completed over 350 transactions ranging in size from 10,000 square feet to 700,000 square feet with a value of $1 billion. His clients include CenterPoint Properties, CR Laurence, FedEx, IRIS USA, KTR Capital Partners, The Missner Group, Principle Real Estate Investors, Opus North Corporation, Public Storage and Ridge Property Trust.

Much’s drive stems from finding an equal balance to both sides of a transaction. Negotiations can be challenging but finding creative was to make both parties happy is rewarding in many aspects, especially cultivating the trust that builds relationships into life-long clients. But to what Much credits his success is the talented people he’s surrounded by at NAI Hiffman.

“I learned from my dad to maintain a good name for yourself and treat others fairly, because being credible is something you can count on” Much said. “He told me the only thing that could not be taken away from me is my name, so I’d better make it good. So, I subscribe to being ethical, honest and fair on a regular basis, and it is a motto that I live by personally and professionally.”

The road to success has been long, and like anyone, he’s faced a fair share of challenges along the way.

“The business has changed drastically since 1987—starting with the internet and the fear it could replace us, even though I didn’t see it that way,” Much said. “Technology made many aspects of my career easier with information accessible at the touch of a button, the ease of computers and smartphones, and being able to conduct meetings from my car or a beach in Florida. With all of the changes we’ve seen over the years, the results are still in finding the right fit for a client under the right terms.”

As for the steps he has taken to succeed in the business, Much said they’re ongoing. He continues to learn through other successful people both within NAI Hiffman and CRE as a whole. While Chicagoland brokers are competitive, Much said they also have a relationship that helps them succeed. “It could be as simple as getting a comp by a fellow broker,” he said, “and of course, providing the same when asked, as it helps all parties.”

Much is member of the Society of Industrial and Office Realtors (SIOR), the Association of Industrial Real Estate Brokers (AIRE), the NAI Industrial Council and the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties (NAIOP), and he is a Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM). He has been awarded the NAIOP Industrial Redevelopment of the Year Award (2009) and the SIOR Largest Dollar Volume Transaction Award (2009).

Absent from work, Much loves golfing with friends, practicing yoga to keep balanced and calm, and spending time in Florida to escape the Chicago cold.

Hiffman National | Oakbrook Terrace, IL

Thomas Murphy, Director of Project Services with Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois’ Hiffman National’s property management and project services division of NAI Hiffman, has notched some impressive numbers during his commercial real estate career of more than 24 years. Here’s one: Since joining Hiffman in 2012, Murphy and his team have completed more than $274 million in capital and tenant improvement projects across 28 states, many of which have benefitted from Murphy’s engineering, tenant relations and commercial property operations experience.

Such achievements aren’t unusual for Murphy. During his long career, he has successfully managed real estate assets for companies such as United Parcel Service, Prentiss Properties and Grubb & Ellis, focusing on everything from building operations, budgeting, accounting and asset management to lease administration, engineering, preventative maintenance, capital and tenant improvement oversight.

At Hiffman National, Murphy’s career began by leading a team of 24 property management professionals managing 22 million SF of office and industrial assets, which led him to spearhead the creation of the company’s new Project Services division. This division provides specialized project management oversight services to capital and tenant improvement projects for independent and existing Hiffman clients. With his direction, the Project Services team has overseen 10.2 million square feet of office, medical office and industrial due diligence assignments in just four years.

Murphy has succeeded in this business largely because he understands that being a leader means considering the ideas of other talented professionals.

“Listening to understand first, not to respond” is how Murphy describes this talent. “By taking the time to listen to a problem or a request and focus on understanding what is being communicated first has allowed me to be productive in responding appropriately.”

But that’s not the only reason for Murphy’s success. He also follows some simple but effective rules:

“Never stop learning,” Murphy says. “Take the sales call. You might be surprised at what new ideas are available to solve today’s obstacles. Make promises you can keep. And always think through a situation beyond the immediate answer to a problem to ensure that you do not create a larger issue down the road.”

Even with these golden rules, Murphy has faced challenges during his career. He points to the recession in 2008, which he says was a long and difficult portion of his career. At this time, Murphy was the general manager of a trophy high-rise asset in the Chicago CBD that struggled to cover its debt service and pay for the services required in a Class-A building, such as night cleaning and security. “This is where I learned the importance of proactive communication and the value of keeping commitments,” Murphy said. “It was using those tools that allowed me to manage the expectations of the vendors waiting for payment and ensure no service interruption for the tenants of the property.”

These skills have served Murphy well. Hiffman National’s Project Services division, under Murphy’s leadership has grown from two to six project management professionals who oversee capital and tenant improvement projects in 28 states.

When Murphy isn’t working, he enjoys watching his five sons compete in sports and spending time with his family. He also enjoys reading books, is an automobile enthusiast and isn’t afraid to tackle DIY projects at home.

Congratulations!

As a leader of Hiffman National’s Project Services Team, Tom Murphy has a superpower akin to x-ray vision: He doesn’t miss a thing.

Like a commercial real estate Sherlock Holmes, he notices the details and deduces solutions with an uncanny, experienced and well-informed eye that inspires confidence. As a professional baseball player tracks the trajectory of a pop fly, Tom sees the future and assists his clients’ plans and preparation, all the while spotting inefficiencies, risks, cost savings and opportunities, and maximizing results.

When you want a project done right, Tom Murphy is the project manager you want in your corner.

Congratulations from all your friends at Hiffman!

STEVE PALEC Chief Marketing Officer

Irgens | Greater Milwaukee Area

Jack-of-all-trades is how many would describe bestselling author, award-winning radio host and Irgens Chief Marketing Officer Steve Palec.

Palec’s career in CRE began in 1986 at The Polacheck Company. During his first 10 years in the field, Palec completed numerous local and national transactions and liked to say that Monday through Friday was just one long day for him. Becoming a partner in the well-respected firm was a highlight of his career and over the next 10 years, Palec was involved in many high-profile assignments, representing companies like Manpower, Northwestern Mutual, Kohls, Cramer-Krasselt, Baker Tilly and the Office of The Commissioner of Major League Baseball, as well as GE Healthcare in a 500,000-square-foot build-to-suit and the subsequent sale of the property, before moving on to work for CBRE, Cresa Milwaukee and Colliers.

Just three years ago, Palec pivoted once again to take on the challenge of his current position of CMO at Irgens, one of the premier firms in the Midwest. During his time as a broker he garnered much success by:

(1) Using the communication skills learned in broadcasting.

(2) Finding ways to say yes.

(3) Putting himself in clients’ shoes.

(4) Committing 100% to the craft.

(5) Painting a picture. He said, “More effort goes into selling a $1 bar of soap than a $100 million complex. The soap markets the feeling of refreshed. Many building ads are simply a photo.”

Challenges are expected, but much like playing sports, the greatest challenges bring the greatest awards ”…BUT you’re only as good as your last deal,” Palec said. “You must always stay sharp.” Palec’s favorite part of his position at Irgens is the ability to bring creative marketing combined with commercial real estate experience to be involved in a variety of companies’ major space decisions at the highest level and contribute positively to their success.

When he’s not working for Irgens, Palec is likely dabbling in one of his other many hobbies. He recently wrote a bestselling book, “In Awe—Beatles, Baseball & Bourbon…Appreciating Spectacular and Simple Stuff,” and also finds pleasure in the simplicities of going to sporting events, spending time with his family (including his dog, Luke) and drinking bourbon.

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

Capri Investment Group | Chicago, Illinois

Active in the real estate industry for more than four decades, Quintin Primo has never been afraid to challenge conventional wisdom. Under his leadership, his firm, Capri Investment Group, became an early investor in both U.S. multifamily and urban property markets, successfully investing more than $14 billion since the company’s founding.

Capri Investment Group has also pursued developments in India, Africa and the Middle East. In these programs, Primo’s goal has been to achieve attractive risk-adjusted returns for the firm’s investors while enhancing those communities in which Capri invests.

Primo credits much of his success in commercial real estate to the mentoring he’s received from what he calls some of the industry’s giants.

But he also points to his commitment to diversity as a reason for Capri’s success.

“Equally important to my success has been my commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion,”

Primo said. “I’ve tirelessly embraced those qualities in my own organization and championed these principles in the industry. I believe actively engaging with those who are different from us offers a greater set of opportunities, more creative solutions to problems and an increased likelihood of lasting success, whether you’re an investor, advisor, manager, contractor or in any other role in the sector.”

The problem? Primo says that the participation of Black and Brown professionals in the commercial real estate industry, and the assets they correspondingly own, manage, or control, is still disturbingly low.

“I believe this hurts the industry,” Primo said. “We are not performing at our true potential.”

Primo has done his part to help change this. In addition to his business work, Primo has long been active in civic and non-profit initiatives. He is a founder and currently co-chairman of the Primo Center for Women and Children, a transitional center and family institute for the homeless. He was also the founding chairman of the Chicago Alliance to End Homelessness and is a board member of the Chicago Council of Global Affairs, School of the Art Institute and Church Investment Group.

Primo has also previously served as trustee of the Chicago Community Trust, University of Chicago Hospitals and the Church Pension Group.

It’s not surprising that during his long career, many have sought out Primo’s advice and thoughts on the economy and commercial real estate. This industry veteran has been featured in national publications such as the Wall Street Journal, Fortune Magazine, Forbes, The New York Times, Bloomberg Business Week and Black Enterprise. He has also been a business contributor to the CNBC cable news network.

Primo has also written or co-authored several stories and industry white papers. He received an honorary doctorate from Sewanee: The University of the South.

“CRE is a challenging industry because it requires so many different skills, creativity, vision, critical thinking, team building, financial acumen and more,” Primo said. “And it requires you to be a lifelong learner, which I enjoy because it keeps you sharp and engaged. But the process of creation provides me the greatest satisfaction. Ground-up development and redevelopment often allows you to impact the trajectory of communities and even entire cities, which can be life-changing for those that live or work in these places and engaging, fulfilling and rewarding for those of us in CRE.

This doesn’t mean that Primo has only encountered success during his career. His first entrepreneurial pursuit in real estate in 1988 failed because of poor marketing and under-capitalization. This didn’t deter Primo. Instead, it inspired him, and Capri Investment Group is still going strong today.

“But having opportunity as a person of color has always been challenging,” Primo said. “When I started in CRE, it was an ‘old boy’s’ network. Women and minorities were often not invited to the table or club or event where you make connections, form relationships, get information and strike deals. Fortunately, that’s changing today. My relationships were directly responsible for a recent transaction my partners and I closed with Google to redevelop the State of Illinois building.” When he’s not working, Primo enjoys spending time with his family, on-road and off-road cycling, reading and following emerging black artists.

NED PURTELL, CCIM, SIOR Partner -- Head of Office Brokerage

Founders 3 | Milwaukee, Wisconsin

How does one measure success in commercial real estate? The most successful CRE professionals excel in three key areas – career longevity, volumes of transactions closed each year, and having a loyal roster of big-name clients.

By any of these measures, then, Ned Purtell is a success.

Purtell, a founding partner and head of office brokerage with Milwaukee’s Founders 3, has logged more than three decades of selling and leasing office and industrial product in the Milwaukee area. He’s also amassed a client list that includes such names as Transwestern, Wangard Partners, Tishman Speyer, Capstone, Somerset Properties and Continental Properties.

He won the “Office Deal of the Year” award from the Commercial Association of Realtors twice, once in 2005 and again in 2022, with numerous other nominations scattered in between.

What’s behind Purtell’s success? He’s passionate about serving his clients, studies his local market, and does not shy away from working the long hours to lead his clients to the best possible real estate solutions.

“For most of my career, I have worked at locally-owned firms, which comes with huge benefits such as being able to call your own shots and quickly respond to your clients’ needs,” Purtell said. “But on the flip side, the challenge is that you alone are solely responsible for creating your business pipeline. You do not have the ability to fall back on deals controlled at the corporate level that many of the national firms have secured.”

Purtell said that when he first began his CRE career, he enjoyed the challenge of closing deals. Today, he finds other aspects of the business to be more rewarding.

“As I have progressed in this business, my joy has shifted to the long-term relationships I’ve been able to build with clients and my colleagues,” Purtell said. “What I used to view as a pure commission-based business has evolved into a rewarding relationship-based business, where solving my clients’ needs and watching them succeed is more valuable and meaningful than the money in the bank.”

In addition to founding a company and building a decades-long brokerage career, Purtell has hired, trained, and mentored many professionals who have forged successful careers of their own. Purtell considers this mentoring work a way to pass his love for commercial real estate on to others.

It’s not easy surviving in an industry as competitive as commercial real estate for more than three decades, but Purtell doesn’t rely on any exotic strategies. Instead, he focuses on working hard and staying abreast of industry changes.

“I think my success has been due to my willingness to roll up my sleeves, work hard, learn from any mistakes and strive to be better on the next deal,” Purtell said. “Another key piece to my success is surrounding myself with great partners like Bob Flood, Scott Revolinski, and Andy Hess. It is hard not to look smart when surrounded by partners like this.”

Life isn’t about commercial real estate alone, though. Purtell also finds time to remain active when he isn’t closing deals -- mainly through hunting, biking, running, snowboarding, and traveling the globe with his wife, Peg, and his three kids.

STEPHEN SANDLER Partner

More than five decades. That’s how long Stephen Sandler has spent counseling and advising developer and investor clients on commercial real estate acquisitions, leases, development and financing.

It’s little wonder, then, that Sandler, a partner with Chicago’s Gould & Ratner, has become such a trusted partner to real estate investors and developers in the Chicago market.

The obvious question? What has kept Sandler in this career for so long?

This industry veteran points to his passion for law and commercial real estate. He truly loves his job and working with his clients.

When asked what he most likes about commercial real estate law, Sandler says, “Interacting with diverse people and seeing a development or value-add project come to fruition.”

During his long career, Sandler has served as an advisor on projects that are both complex and involve high stakes. This includes working on transactions involving major office buildings, hotels, apartment buildings, industrial properties and unimproved land.

Sandler has earned these high-profile jobs thanks to his innate skill in structuring transactions and all phases of financing so that his clients can most efficiently and cost-effectively meet their goals. He has vast experience in all types of financing, including construction, interim, permanent, mezzanine, securitized and equity funding that is provided by banks, institutions, pension funds, REITs and private lenders.

Though he’s built a career that has lasted for more than 55 years, Sandler hasn’t relied on any secret tricks. When asked how he’s remained so successful for so long, his answer is simple: “Due diligence and preparation.” He also cites the importance of hard work and being willing to interact with many people.

Not surprisingly, considering his long career and the loyalty of his clients, Sandler has earned several honors during his time in real estate law. U.S. News named him a Best Lawyer in 2022 and 2023 and he has been honored as a Super Lawyer since 2005. He has also been named an Illinois Leading Lawyer in the areas of commercial real estate law and real estate finance.

Despite the challenges of building such a long and successful career, Sandler has found time to give back to his community. He serves as a board member of CJE Senior Life and was a previous chairman of this organization. He also is a board member of North Side Housing and previously served as a member of the board of the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago.

A successful career is important, but it’s not the only ingredient of a happy life. Sandler, fortunately, knows how to best spend his time away from the job. He enjoys bicycling, skiing, reading and gardening. When he’s in the mood for culture, he enjoys attending the theater, opera and symphony.

PAUL SCHMIDT

Associated Bank | Minneapolis, Minnesota

With nearly 40 years of banking experience, Paul Schmidt joined Associated Bank in 2015 and is the Executive Vice President, Head of Commercial Real Estate and Facilities and Twin Cities Market President, overseeing and directing all aspects of CRE lending including construction, interim-bridge, acquisition and term financing, along with facilities. As Twin Cities Market President, Schmidt also provides overall leadership in the company’s effort to grow its full portfolio of financial products and services in the Twin Cities.

Though there are many aspects of the job that he enjoys, the few that stand out to Schmidt are the relationships and friendships he’s developed over his career. “I have had the privilege of working with many long-term committed colleagues who challenge me and inspire me to be a better person,” he said. “I also value working with and helping both clients and colleagues succeed. There is no better feeling than a happy client.”

To say he is successful at what he does would be an understatement, and when asked about the factors that have contributed to his success, two in particular stand out.

“My biggest success has come from the people I work with,” Schmidt said. “Working with the best colleagues and clients has inspired me to be better both personally and professionally. I’ve also taken a consistent approach throughout my tenure, allowing for growth.”

Yet his success hasn’t been met without challenges—especially in the last few years. One of the biggest has been uncertainty, while also managing a large group of people working both hybrid and remote, Schmidt said. It took lots of patience, resiliency and collaboration to find the best work style that was effective for all, but now the team is stronger than ever.

Schmidt serves on the executive leadership team for Associated Banc-Corp and is active in industry organizations including the National Association of Industrial and Office Parks and International Shopping Center Association. He also serves on the board of HopeKids Minnesota.

When not at work, Schmidt enjoys spending time with family and friends at his cabin and golfing.

J.J. SMITH Managing Partner, Residential

During his 20-year career in commercial real estate, J.J. Smith has led the development of $7 billion in projects across 40 states and multiple countries. For the last 15 years, he has specialized in multifamily and student-housing development and has built a reputation as one of the top experts in these sectors.

Before taking on his current role as managing partner in the Chicago office of CRG, Smith made a significant impact at his previous firm, CA Ventures. While holding executive leadership positions with that firm for 13 years, Smith led the transformation of a small student-housing start-up with under $100 million in assets into a global development and investment firm with more than $12 billion in assets.

During his time at CA Ventures, Smith oversaw the development of more than 40,000 units of housing worth more than $6 billion in value, helping to pioneer campus-adjacent, urban-infill student housing.

Smith points to several reasons for his success. First, he has a natural love for the design and development of real estate. Secondly, he boasts a full understanding of the work that’s involved in taking an idea from concept to fruition. He’s earned this skill from working his way up through the industry, holding positions as an architect, project manager and development manager before moving into executive leadership roles.

“Knowing how to perform each role essential to a building’s creation has allowed me to develop a keen eye for identifying talent and placing that talent in positions that support both professional growth and the growth of the business,” Smith said.

Smith is also known for his innate ability to, as he says, “connect dots,” always remembering seemingly small details that often result in large projects and new jobs.

“It could be remembering someone who went to a specific school and has an interest in investing in that market or someone who knows someone who owns land and would be willing to sell to a developer who can realize their vision for it,” Smith said. “The ability to connect dots between people and opportunities has served me very well.”

Today, Smith is overseeing the development of four student-housing projects and the pre-development of six multifamily communities comprising about 2,000 units across the United States.

This busy career hasn’t kept him from mentoring others. Smith’s peers say that he is known for nurturing young executives, and that he has built a strong team to support CRG’s continued growth. Smith says that he is looking forward to the next two decades of his career. Why? He loves the business and has a passion for bringing buildings to life.

“I don’t consider real estate ‘work’ but rather a passion,” he said. “I have always enjoyed the autonomy of picking and choosing our target markets and product types and then dreaming up concepts and bringing them to fruition in collaboration with the talented team we’ve assembled. Real estate is a people business, and relationships are essential: I cultivate them at every opportunity.”

When not working on new development projects, Smith enjoys spending time with his wife, Julia, and three children. This often means playing or watching sports with them. Smith also enjoys spending equal parts of the year at the beach and on the ski slopes.

PARKER STEWART Managing Director, Midwest team

Northmarq | Chicago, Illinois and St. Louis, Missouri

Parker Stewart, managing director for Northmarq’s Midwest team, ranks as one of the busiest multifamily brokers in the region. How busy? He has sold more than 15,000 apartment units in nearly a dozen states throughout his career. And Stewart’s production doesn’t seem ready to dip anytime soon. Since joining Northmarq in 2021, he has been involved in the sale of more than 8,000 apartments totaling more than $875 million.

A reason for this success? Stewart cites his entrepreneurial spirit.

“The harder you work, the more success you will have,” Stewart said. “I love that there are no ceilings to how far you can advance in brokerage if you are driven. After some point, you will be rewarded for the hours, energy, and effort that you put in.”

Being trustworthy has mattered, too. Stewart is always honest with his clients, and he always makes it a priority to do what he says is going to do.

“When we are awarded an assignment, it comes down to someone putting trust in us – that we will work hard on their behalf and do everything we can to come through for them,” Stewart said. “It’s extremely important to remember that. And that there is almost always somebody next in line if we can’t get the job done.”

Last year was an especially busy one for Stewart and his partners, Dominic Martinez in St. Louis and Alex Malzone in Chicago. The team sold 5,426 multifamily units for more than $650 million.

A few of their 2022 highlighted sales include a 1,288-unit value-add portfolio in Madison, Wisconsin; a 272-unit, $70 million Class-A new development in St. Peters, Missouri; and a 304-unit complex in Peoria, Illinois, that sold for $45 million.

In 2021, Stewart arranged the largest single-property sale in Nebraska history, closing the sale of a 613-unit resort-style complex in Lincoln.

Since the earliest days of his career, Stewart has enjoyed success, thanks to his willingness to work hard, study his markets and provide the best service to his clients. Stewart began his career at Berkadia, where he completed the sale of more than 7,500 multifamily units in five years, deals that spanned seven states.

“I try my best to be a good listener. That is essential in brokerage,” Stewart said. “I also learned early on that you can’t focus on a timeline with one specific client or deal. It is imperative that you listen and understand what a client is trying to accomplish, and then figure out how you can help them, whether it involves a deal short term, long term, or even at all. I’ve learned that the goal is to provide actual value to my clients, not to simply focus on what my agenda is.”

Stewart undoubtedly spends plenty of hours focused on his business. But when he’s not on the clock, he loves watching sports and is an avid St. Louis Cardinals fan. He also enjoys traveling, golf and spending time with his family. He enjoys staying active as much as possible by exercising and spending time outdoors.

to Steve Grif th on being inducted into the Midwest Commercial Real Estate Hall of Fame.

CBRE | Kansas City, Missouri

Over the last 10 years, CBRE Executive Vice President Jeff Stingley has facilitated the sale of 40,000 multifamily units totaling over $4 billion within the Kansas City metro area. Having built his business on long-term relationships, Stingley has been CBRE Kansas City’s Top Producer 10 of the last 11 years, including 2022. Additional recognition includes being a CBRE Americas Region Top 10% Producer (’12, ’13, ’15, ’16), CBRE Americas Region Top 20% Producer (’14, ’15, ’17, ’18, ’19, ’20, ’21) and an Ingram’s magazine Kansas City’s 40 Under 40 recipient (’15).

Having grown up playing sports, Stingley’s favorite part of the business is that every deal is different. “I also like that it’s entrepreneurial and I have the unique opportunity to help shape Kansas City,” he said.

But his success has not been met without challenges, one of the biggest being that the region is often overlooked when it comes to investment opportunities.

“Kansas City is often considered flyover country, but we have a lot of momentum with a new airport, and extended streetcar line, as well as the NFL Draft in Spring 2023 and the FIFA World Cup to be held here in 2026,” Stingley said. “Additionally, The Wall Street Journal just ranked it one of the top job markets in the U.S. I am a huge proponent of our region and what it offers and thrive on bringing new capital into the market.”

Despite this, and recent economic headwinds, Stingley and his team had a record year in 2022, completing $900 million in sales within the metro. Perseverance and a strong worth ethic have led to his success, as have the many mentors who were especially helpful in his early career.

When he’s not at work, Stingley is a father to his two children, Jack (9) and Blaire (7). He also enjoys ice hockey, platform tennis, skiing, reading, traveling, challenging his wife Gina in Wordle and spending time with their new puppy, Rocco.

CBRE Congratulates Jeff Stingley

SHERYL VICKERS Chief Executive Officer, Owner

Select Sites, LLC. | Kansas City, Missouri

It’s not easy crafting a successful career in commercial real estate brokerage, where you “eat what you kill” and there is no formal training, other than CCIM classes, it’s really just sink-or-swim. When you’re a woman working in an industry still dominated by men, it can be even more challenging. But this didn’t stop Sheryl Vickers and she intends to change the ratio in the next 10 years through the advocacy of others.

Vickers has built a thriving real estate career of more than 28 years. Today, she is the owner and President of her Kansas City, Metro-based boutique firm, Select Sites, specializing in retail and restaurant tenant representation and site selection primarily. She also excels in shopping center leasing, commercial acquisitions and investments.

Sheryl launched a small holding company in 2012, CRV LLC and Guest Suites KC, a short-term rental management company. Vickers also consults clients when it comes to construction and development. She says it’s her favorite new role, as a strategy partner for those up-and-coming developers who are just working on their first few projects. She’s very confident in this role because of her perfect investment record so far. No losses after her first 10 investment projects. Her strategy is her own recipe of three components: 1. to take some big, but calculated risks, 2. always start with the tenant, which she sees as the most valuable component of any investment, and 3. LOCATION, she often is pioneering emerging areas or opportunity zones.

She juggles a lot, but Vickers is a master at working efficiently yet tirelessly for her clients. Combine that with her market knowledge, honesty, and passion for the industry, and you have a recipe for long-term success.

Though Vickers has built a thriving career, she has faced challenges. She points to the economic crash of 2008 as her biggest, but another major challenge came 12 years later as she worked to keep Select Sites operational during the COVID-19 pandemic, when retail and restaurants had a period of unknown that caused some panic and so many projects collapsed.

“What I have learned is how to be resilient and find creative solutions to income issues during those difficult economic times,” Vickers said. “And 2008 was the catalyst to my focus on passive income strategies. I swore I would never be caught without back-up income again. By 2020, I was ready. Now I can survive even if commissions dry up temporarily in a recession.”

But even juggling so many roles hasn’t kept Vickers from supporting her industry and community. She is especially committed to finding ways to bring more women and minorities into commercial real estate. To help with this, she joined forces with Audrey Navarro to create Women in Real Estate Development, better known as WIRED.

WIRED is a women’s mentoring and support group with the goal of helping women begin careers in commercial brokerage, development, and make their own investments in the Kansas City market. Through this group and on her own time, Vickers spends long hours mentoring the future female and minority leaders in commercial real estate.

“I have focused on tenant representation and love representing retailers and restaurants who are seeking sites or expanding their brand into the Kansas City market,” Vickers said. “In the past 10 years, I have started to invest in properties, and I enjoy helping women and minorities learn to invest in commercial properties for passive income to build their wealth.”

In addition, Vickers in 2018 was selected to be a Real Estate Associates Program instructor. That program in 2019 was replaced by the ULI REDI program, a program that Vickers continues to support. She has served on the board of the Prospect Business Association and chaired the Economic Development committee for years.

Vickers’ peers have recognized her importance to both commercial real estate and her community. It’s not surprising, then, that she has earned several honors during her years in the business. This includes being listed most recently as The 20 People to Know in Commercial Real Estate by The Kansas City Business Journal, and also in the Top 10 Women Leaders publication of Industry Era magazine in 2022; being named a retail Power Broker in by CoStar Group four times; chosen as a Kansas City Influential Women Award honoree by Kansas City Business Magazine; and selected as a 2019 Enterprising Woman of the Year honoree by Enterprising Women Magazine.

As a mom of two teen girls, family time is important to Vickers, too. The family enjoys travel whenever they can sneak away, often taking long road trips in their Airstream trailer. Vickers is also a home-improvement DIYer and has been known to hit the pickleball courts with her friends and other WIRED women.

CBRE commends Jeff Stingley for his selection in the thirteenth class of the Midwest Commercial Real Estate Hall of Fame. Your team is honored to witness your dedication, hard work and talent every day, and we offer our congratulations for this deserving recognition.

Jeff Stingley Executive Vice President Investment Properties | Multi-Family

It’s not easy to thrive in the world of commercial real estate for more than four decades. But that’s what David Wilkins, managing director of the Detroit office of Walker & Dunlop, has done.

What’s behind this longevity? Wilkins has built a reputation for providing best-in-class financing solutions to the owners of multifamily properties. He also possesses a deep knowledge of the debt markets. Armed with this knowledge and his more than 40 years of experience, Wilkins knows how to lead his clients to their best possible real estate decisions.

Honesty matters, too, and Wilkins’ peers say that this industry veteran never misleads his clients. And when it’s time to push a deal across the finish line? No one is as relentless as Wilkins.

Working in an industry as competitive as commercial real estate for more than 40 years is an impressive accomplishment. What has kept Wilkins in the business for more than four decades? He points to the variety that commercial real estate brings.

“I enjoy that no two days are the same, not because of the work that we do but because the economy frequently changes, making the work we do very interesting,” Wilkins said. “I also enjoy watching my clients reach their goals and attending the ground-breaking and ribbon-cutting ceremonies to witness their success.”

For the last 10 years, Wilkins has focused on working in the affordable housing market. In this role, he is responsible for the origination of multifamily loans through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

“I like to take my knowledge of the debt markets and put myself in the positions of the borowers and help them make the best decisions for their businesses,” Wilkins said.

Before moving to Walker & Dunlop, Wilkins was a managing director at Pillar Financial, a division of SunTrust Bank. Here, he routinely notched company-leading sales numbers. He also previously served as the principal of GTC Finance, a loan brokerage firm that Wilkins founded in 1995.

Despite his many years in commercial real estate, Wilkins has found time to relax. When he’s not working, he enjoys spending his free time outdoors. He and his wife spend this time hiking, boating and skiing. The couple also travels to regional, national and international destinations. Wilkins has traveled enough that he’s filled a global map with pins marking his adventures.

“Even if you’re on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just stand there.” This is the quote HSA PrimeCare President John Wilson lives by, and one that’s led him to enjoy success in nearly every aspect of CRE, including brokerage, tenant representation, property marketing, real estate development, land transactions and owner representation.

From his early days at Cushman & Wakefield to becoming a partner at Irvine Associates/Realsource, Wilson has negotiated hundreds of lease transactions valued over $1 billion on behalf of tenants including The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, Kemper Financial Services, Honeywell and Bank of America, along with marketing properties such as the now Willis Tower.

In 1995, Wilson initiated HSA PrimeCare, one of the first healthcare real estate service groups, operating as a separate division of HSA Commercial. Over the past 25 years, he has led the growth of this group—with clients such as Advocate Healthcare, University of Chicago Medicine, Loyola Healthcare, Trinity Health and Franciscan Alliance—which has developed, leased and/or purchased more than 1 million square feet of healthcare facilities across the Midwest.

His projects have received award recognition, along with Wilson himself. He has been recognized as a “Healthcare Real Estate Pioneer” by RE Forum and a Healthcare Real Estate “Influencer”. Additionally, Wilson is a member of both the Chicago Office Leasing Brokers Association, the Healthcare Financial Management Association and the Center for Health Design and is on the Board of Directors of B.U.I.L.D.

Though the recognition speaks for itself, Wilson’s favorite aspect of the business is the people. “I have been fortunate to meet and work with people from different real estate sectors,” he said, “including contractors, banks, brokers, architects and the healthcare providers HSA PrimeCare has partnered with. Business is people and having good relationships to celebrate the achievements and overcome the challenges is key to business success.”

Outside of work, Wilson enjoys traveling with his wife, Sue, and attending family gatherings with their children and grandchildren.

Aaron

Bryan

Derrick

Janet

Nancy

Tom

Jeffrey;Timmel,

Leopardo, James

Michael

Matthew

John

Rob

Brent

Claire

David

Brent

Harlan

John

Bill

Bret

Chris

Jr., William

Simon, Judith 2018

Sims, Mark 2013

Sims, Tom 2016 Six, Robert 2019 Skender, Joseph 2017 Slane, Elizabeth 2010 Slusky, Jerry 2010

Smaniotto, Tony 2021

Smietana, Robert 2013 Smith, Greg 2019 Smith, Jeff 2011

Smith, Jr., Paul Ray

Smith, Samuel

Smith, Stephen

Smith, Terry

Smith, Terry 2015

Smith, Tom 2015

Snow, Peter

Spears, Powell

Spencer, Mike

Stacy, John

Stafford, John

Stamm, Brent

Stange, Drew

Steinbach, David

Stephens, Dick

Stephens, Randy

Stern, Martin

Stern, Tom

Stieve, Terry

Stofer, Boyd

Stratton, Marge

Stratton, Steve

Sturm, Keith

Sturman, Jake

Sullivan, Jr., Michael

Sullivan, Michael

Suwyn, Duke

ASSET/PROPERTY MANAGEMENT FIRMS

AREA REAL ESTATE ADVISORS

4800 Main Street, Suite 400 Kansas City, MO 64112

P: 816.895.4800

Website: openarea.com

Key Contacts: Doug Grossenbacher,EVP, Director of Property Management, dgrossenbacher@openarea.com

Company Profile: AREA Real Estate Advisors is a full-suite commercial real estate firm in Kansas City. AREA is the hometown team that plays in the big leagues. Our size and scope allow us to be nimble and apply a team-driven approach while providing best-in-class service. At AREA, we deal in real estate, but our business is relationships. We are committed to meaningful partnerships with our clients to ensure that their goals are achieved. Our goal is to exceed our clients’ expectations.

Services Provided: Lease Administration, Accounting, Building Maintenance, Project Management and Consulting

Notable Properties Managed: lightwell office building- 1100 Main Street (668,032 SF), West Bottoms Redevelopment (743,698 SF), Regency Park- 92nd & Metcalf (201,751 SF), 4800Main (162,850 SF

CENTERPOINT PROPERTIES

1808 Swift Drive Oak Brook, IL 60523

P: 630.586.8000

Website: centerpoint.com

Key Contacts: Nate Rexroth, Executive Vice President, Asset Management; nrexroth@centerpoint.com; Danielle Radtke, Senior Vice President, Asset Management; dradtke@centerpoint.com

Services Provided: CenterPoint Properties is an innovator in the investment, development, and management of industrial real estate and multimodal transportation infrastructure. CenterPoint acquires, develops, redevelops, manages, leases, and sells state-of-the-art warehouse, distribution, and manufacturing facilities near major transportation nodes. Our experts focus on port-proximate distribution infrastructure assets near America’s major population centers.

Company Profile: CenterPoint Properties continuously reimagines what’s possible by creating ingenious solutions to the most complex industrial property, logistics, and supply chain problems. With an agile team, substantial access to capital, and industry-leading expertise, we give customers a competitive edge to ensure their success — no matter how great the challenge.

CROSSROADS REAL ESTATE PARTNERS

4201 Lake Cook Road, Suite 100 Northbrook, IL 60062

P: 847.239.7519

Website: xr-partners.com

Key Contacts: Kirsten Bowersox, COO and Managing Broker, kirsten@xr-partners.com; Christine Simek, Senior Vice President Brokerage/Development, christine@xr-partners.com

O:847.239.7512 C: 630.473.5070

Services Provided: Management Services; Corporate Services; Advisory Services; Development Services; Real Estate Brokerage Services.

Company Profile: Fully integrated real estate solutions firm and can assist with every aspect ofreal estate ownership and management, including property operations and accounting, zoning and entitlements, construction management, due diligence and financial underwriting, sales and leasing and more.

Notable Transactions: SALE THAT JUST CLOSED-buyer representation deal for Frankfort Market Street on LaGrange Road , Frankfort Illinois.

New 10 year retail lease for 5,253 sf Restaurant Space at Barrington Square Mall to Kritunga Restaurant

New 7-year behavioral Health Office Lease at 4201 Lake Cook Road, Northbrook-4,300 sf

New 10-year behavioral Health Office Lease at 2353 Hassell road Hoffman Estates-4,400 sf

Please call for other availabilities.

FARBMAN GROUP/NAI FARBMAN

28400 Northwestern Highway, Suite 400 Southfield, MI 48034

P: 248.353.0500

Website: farbman.com

Key Contacts: Andrew Farbman, CEO, afarbman@farbman.com; Andrew Gutman, President, gutman@farbman.com; Michael Kalil, COO and Director of Brokerage, kalil@farbman.com.

Services Provided: Property Management, Leasing & Brokerage, Construction, Investment Sales, Asset Management, Site Selection Services, Acquisition & Disposition, Medical Real Estate Solutions, Move Management, Receivership Services, Facility Management, HVAC Services, Net Lease Brokerage Services.

Company Profile: Farbman Group, a full-service commercial real estate company, is one of the largest and most respected names in Commercial Real Estate.

GERSHMAN COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE

150 N. Meramec Ave., Suite 500 St. Louis, MO 63105

P: 314.862.9400

Website: gershmancommercial.com

Key Contacts: Chris Fox, CCIM, SIOR, President & CEO, cfox@gershmancommercial.com; Molly Studer, Executive Vice President, Operations, mstuder@gershmancommercial.com

Services Provided: Gershman offers an extensive array of commercial real estate services, including brokerage, landlord and tenant representation, investment sales, valuation advisory, market research, corporate services, property & facility management, project/ construction management, client accounting and maintenance/engineering.

Company Profile: Gershman Commercial Real Estate is a full-service real estate firm providing comprehensive, personalized services to owners and occupiers of commercial property. With an over 75-year history in St. Louis, and firm leadership based locally, we are uniquely positioned as the longest-standing independently owned firm in the metro area.

KENNMAR

5253 West 16th Street

Speedway, IN 46224

P: 317.635.5555

Website: KennMar.com

Key Contact: Kristy Carter, KCarter@kennmar.com

Services Provided: Development, Redevelopment, Investment, Property Management and Receivership

Company Profile: KennMar is expertly equipped to support the needs of commercial property owners who require the services of a third-party asset manager. Leveraging the same metrics, tools, and reports we have designed for our ourselves, we implement cost-efficient processes and systems that F.O.C.U.S. on G.O.O.D. and add value for our clients.

Notable Transactions/Clients: Developer and Owner of Hotel Indy (Indianapolis, IN - October 2021)

Acquired Indianapolis Pyramids (Indianapolis, IN - April 2022)

Acquired City Park at Lincolnshire (Lincolnshire, IL - July 2022)

KESSINGER HUNTER & COMPANY, LC

2600 Grand Boulevard, Suite 700 Kansas City, MO 64108

P: 816.842.2690 | F: 816.421.5659

Website: kessingerhunter.com

Key Contact: John DeHardt

Services Provided: Kessinger Hunter & Company, LC is a full-service, commercial real estate firm. Full service includes management, brokerage, development, accounting, and consulting services throughout the United States and globally.

Company Profile: What really sets us apart is our People. Integrity, Passion, Knowledge, and Experience are a way of everyday life for us at Kessinger Hunter. Each group responds to our clients’ needs, and they work together to utilize the resources that come with more than 140 years of experience and 200 associates. We manage over 26,500,000 square feet of property and have developed in excess of 14,000,000 square feet of projects.

MID-AMERICA

One Parkview Plaza 9th Floor

Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois 60181

Key Contacts:

Dan Hanson-Illinois, dhanson@midamericagrp.com

Brad Lefkowitz-Michigan, blefkowitz@midamericagrp.com

Brandon O’ Connell-Minnesota, boconnell@midamericagrp.com

Jim Vaillancourt-Wisconsin, jvaillancourt@midamericagrp.com

Services Provided: Mid-America provides strategic consulting services that maximize net operating income, net cash flow, and accelerate property appreciation. We provide property and construction management, leasing, due diligence, and market analysis. Additionally, we offer MA Building Services, a self-performing porter and maintenance company offering our clients cost savings and improved accountability for related services.

Company Profile: Mid-America Real Estate is #1 in retail real estate services in the Midwest, with fullservice offices in Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. Our exclusive focus on retail property, combined with cutting-edge technology and unsurpassed service, distinguishes Mid-America within the industry and provides clients with a competitive edge. The total consideration value of leasing and investment sales transactions facilitated in 2021 was $2.4 billion. Mid-America leases and manages more than 60 million square feet of retail space, and represents over 270 retailers and other tenants. For more information, visit www.midamericagrp.com

OUTLOOK MANAGEMENT GROUP, LLC AMO

S74 W16853 Janesville Road Muskego, WI 53150

P: 414.369.3511 | F: 414.435.0251

Website: outlookmgmt.com

Key Contact: Ray Balfanz, President/Partner, ray@outlookmgmt.com

Services Provided: Full service property and asset management services, financial analysis and reporting; budget preparation and expense reconciliations; lease administration; construction management; preventative maintenance and consulting services.

Company Profile: Outlook Management Group, LLC AMO provides comprehensive property and asset management services for all asset classes in multiple states and markets.

Notable Properties Managed: Washington Corners, Naperville, IL; Ironwood Office Park, Glendale, WI; Wood River Condominiums, West Bend, WI; Seven 10 West Luxury Apartments, Chicago, IL; MDJD Aesthetic MOB, Rockford, IL, Ascension Health MOB Milwaukee, WI; Henry Ford Health Systems Pharmacy Services Building in Rochester Hillsv, MI; Henry Ford Medical Center in West Bloomfield, MI; Baptist Medical Center South, Montgomery, AL; and Lee Memorial Health Systems Building in Fort Myers, FL

PACE PROPERTIES

1401 South Brentwood Boulevard, Suite 900 St. Louis, MO 63144

P: 314.968.9898

Website: paceproperties.com

Key Contacts: Rick Meyer, President & CEO, rmeyer@paceproperties.com, Joe Ciapciak, Managing Director-Brokerage, jciapciak@paceproperties.com, Patrick Willett, Managing Director-Brokerage pwillett@paceproperties.com

Services Provided: Pace Properties offers a full range of real estate services, including commercial asset management, property management, investment sales, tenant and landlord representation, and project management. Pace understands the changing dynamics of every street, intersection, shopping center, and neighborhood to help clients make well-informed decisions concerning the best property or the right tenant to create the perfect retail mix.

Company Profile: What began as an investment firm in 1984, Pace Properties has grown into a multi-service commercial real estate company with expertise in all industry sectors. Their dedicated professionals have the intimate market knowledge and strong relationships with tenants, landlords, communities, lenders, and investors that maximize outcomes for their clients. As a 100% employee-owned company and their culture is collaborative. Their assets are their people. They know their clients. They know the market, and they care about your business.

Notable Transactions/Clients:

• Costco

• Chick-fil-a

• Hobby Lobby

• Home Goods

• IKEA

• Panera Bread

• Shake Shack

• Top Golf • TJ Maxx

BROKERAGE FIRMS

AREA REAL ESTATE ADVISORS

4800 Main Street, Suite 400 Kansas City, MO 64112

P: 816.895.4800

Website: openarea.com

Key Contact: Tim Schaffer, Founder & President, tschaffer@openarea.com

Services Provided: Office, Retail & Industrial Landlord and Tenant Representation; Multifamily Brokerage; Property Management; Project Management; Investment; Research Analytic and Consulting.

Company Profile: AREA Real Estate Advisors is a full-suite commercial real estate firm in Kansas City. AREA is the hometown team that plays in the big leagues. Our size and scope allow us to be nimble and apply a team-driven approach while providing best-in-class service. At AREA, we deal in real estate, but our business is relationships. We are committed to meaningful partnerships with our clients to ensure that their goals are achieved. Our goal is to exceed our clients’ expectations

Notable Transactions: Ocean Prime / Prime Social, Visiting Nurse Association, American Trailer & Storage, Ryan Lawn & Tree, Five Below, Strang Chef Collective, Professional Engineering Consultants, Vytelle, Inspired Homes, CentiMark, Clairvaux, Santa Fe Village Apartments, Arvest Bank, Arborwalk, Higher Ground Education.

AVISON YOUNG

Downtown Chicago, IL – 312.957.7600

Suburban Chicago, IL – 847.849.1900

Indianapolis, IN – 317.210.8801

Minneapolis, MN – 612.913.5640

St. Louis, MO – 314.968.0220

Cleveland, OH – 216.609.0303

Columbus, OH – 614.840.0700

Website: avisonyoung.com

Services Provided: Avison Young offers a comprehensive suite of commercial real estate services, including transaction, management, financial and advisory services. We’ve designed our corporate structure to best serve our clients by enhancing collaboration across our organization. Whether you are a user/occupier or an owner/investor, Avison Young is organized to deliver truly integrated solutions to meet your unique needs.

Company Profile: Founded in 1978 to create a more accountable and nimble real estate company, with legacies dating back more than 200 years, Avison Young will never outgrow our values of putting people first in every choice we make. Our purpose is to create net economic, social, and environmental gain for our clients and in the communities in which we work.

Notable Transactions/Clients:

• Amazon

• BDO

• CIBC

• LinkedIn

• NISA Headquarters

• PPG

• Panera Bread

• Rawlings

• Ruth’s Chris

• Valley Park Fire District

BARBERMURPHY

1173 Fortune Blvd.

Shiloh, IL 62269

P: 618.277.4400 | F: 618.277.4407

Website: barbermurphy.com

Key Contacts: Wayne Barber, Jr., SIOR, Principal, Wayne@barbermurphy.com; Paul Murphy, Managing Broker, Principal, Paul@barbermurphy.com; Steve Zuber, SIOR, CCIM, Principal, Steve@barbermurphy.com; Collin Fischer, CCIM, Principal, CollinF@barbermurphy.com

Services Provided: BARBERMURPHY is a full service Commercial Real Estate firm offering their clients on the ground market knowledge and experience in the disposition and acquisition of commercial, industrial, land, retail, and investment properties.

Company Profile: BARBERMURPHY is one of the top commercial real estate brokerage firms focusing on the downstate Illinois/St. Louis Region. Our growing firm has 20 Licensed Brokers and more than 500 exclusive listings.

Mission Statement: Achieving total client satisfaction through exceptional people providing the best possible Commercial Real Estate Solutions.

GERSHMAN COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE

150 N. Meramec Ave., Suite 500 St. Louis, MO 63105

P: 314.862.9400

Website: gershmancommercial.com

Key Contacts: Chris Fox, CCIM, SIOR, President & CEO, cfox@gershmancommercial.com; Molly Studer, Executive Vice President, Operations, mstuder@gershmancommercial.com

Services Provided: Gershman offers an extensive array of commercial real estate services, including brokerage, landlord and tenant representation, investment sales, valuation advisory, market research, corporate services, property & facility management, project/construction management, client accounting and maintenance/engineering.

Company Profile: Gershman Commercial Real Estate is a full-service real estate firm providing comprehensive, personalized services to owners and occupiers of commercial property. With an over 75-year history in St. Louis, and firm leadership based locally, we are uniquely positioned as the longest-standing independently owned firm in the metro area.

GOODMAN REAL ESTATE SERVICES GROUP LLC

25333 Cedar Road, Suite 305 Cleveland, OH 44124

P: 216.381.8200 | F: 216.381.8211

Website: goodmanrealestate.com

Key Contacts: Randy Goodman, President, Randy@goodmanrealestate.com; Richard Edelman, Senior Vice President/Principal, Richard@goodmanrealestate.com

Services Provided: At Goodman, we combine experience, technology, a large support team and hard work to provide exceptional service to its clients in national investment sales and financing, tenant and buyer site selection, property marketing, leasing, sales and disposition.

Company Profile: Goodman is a leading commercial brokerage firm based in Ohio specializing in national investment sales, tenant and buyer site selection with over 100 companies represented and marketing over 12 million square feet of retail properties for lease and development.

KESSINGER HUNTER & COMPANY, LC

2600 Grand Boulevard, Suite 700

Kansas City, MO 64108

P: 816.842.2690 | F: 816.421.5659

Website: kessingerhunter.com

Key Contact: John DeHardt

Services Provided: Kessinger Hunter & Company, LC is a full-service, commercial real estate firm. Full service includes management, brokerage, development, accounting, and consulting services throughout the United States and globally.

Company Profile: What really sets us apart is our People. Integrity, Passion, Knowledge, and Experience are a way of everyday life for us at Kessinger Hunter. Each group responds to our clients’ needs, and they work together to utilize the resources that come with more than 140 years of experience and 200 associates. We manage over 26,500,000 square feet of property and have developed in excess of 14,000,000 square feet of projects.

NAI FARBMAN/FARBMAN GROUP

28400 Northwestern Highway, Suite 400 Southfield, MI 48034

P: 248.353.0500 | F: 248.353.0501

Website: farbman.com

Key Contacts: Andrew Farbman, CEO, afarbman@farbman.com; Andrew Gutman, President, gutman@farbman.com; Michael Kalil, COO and Director of Brokerage, kalil@farbman.com.

Services Provided: Leasing & Brokerage, Construction, Investment Sales, Asset Management, Site Selection Services, Acquisition & Disposition, Medical Real Estate Solutions, Move Management, Property Management, Receivership Services, Facility Management.

Company Profile: NAI Farbman, a full-service commercial real estate company, is one of the largest and most respected names in Commercial Real Estate.

BRINKMANN CONSTRUCTORS

16650 Chesterfield Grove Road, Suite 100 Chesterfield, MO 63005

P: 636.537.9700

Website: BrinkmannConstructors.com

Key Contacts: Brian Satterthwaite, CEO, bsatterthwaite@brinkmannconstructors.com; Tom Oberle, President, toberle@brinkmannconstructors.com; Rebecca Randolph, Senior Director of Client Relations & Marketing, RRandolph@brinkmannconstructors.com

Services Provided: General contracting services including design-build, design-assist, and construction management.

Company Profile: Brinkmann Constructors is an employee-owned construction company focusing on finding the best right answer to save clients money and time. From our offices in St. Louis, Denver, Kansas City, Richmond, Va., and Phoenix, Brinkmann works nationwide on construction projects in the senior living, multifamily/ student housing, warehouse/distribution, retail/mixed use, office, healthcare, and hospitality/ entertainment markets.

Notable/Recent Projects: Expo at Forest Park – St. Louis, MO – Transit-oriented development with 2 buildings totaling 457,100 SF with 287 apartment units, retail and parking; Signature at West Pryor –Lee’s Summit, MO – 250,000 SF multifamily apartment building with 184 units; 3000 Huron – Denver, CO – 354,000 SF mid-rise apartment building in downtown Denver with 300 units; Woodleigh Chase – Fairfax, VA - Three building, 618,000 SF senior living community with 262 units; Park Place Flagstaff –Flagstaff, AZ – 472,000 SF student housing development with 200 units.

HUNTINGTON CONSTRUCTION COMPANY

28400 Northwestern Highway, Suite 400 Southfield, MI 48034

P: 248.353.0500

Website: farbman.com

Key Contacts: Andrew Gutman, President, gutman@farbman.com;

John Line, Executive Vice President of Property Management and Construction, line@farbman.com

Services Provided: Huntington Construction offers General Contractor, Construction Management, Owner/ User representation options for all commercial real estate throughout the Midwest. Specializes in ground up construction and tenant improvement work as well as specialized construction. We are your full service, one-stop shop for all of your construction needs.

PACE PROPERTIES

1401 South Brentwood Boulevard, Suite 900 St. Louis, MO 63144

P: 314.968.9898

Website: paceproperties.com

Key Contacts: Rick Meyer, President & CEO, rmeyer@paceproperties.com, Joe Ciapciak, Managing Director-Brokerage, jciapciak@paceproperties.com, Patrick Willett, Managing Director-Brokerage pwillett@paceproperties.com

Services Provided: Pace Properties offers a full range of real estate services, including commercial asset management, property management, investment sales, tenant and landlord representation, and project management. Pace understands the changing dynamics of every street, intersection, shopping center, and neighborhood to help clients make well-informed decisions concerning the best property or the right tenant to create the perfect retail mix.

Company Profile: What began as an investment firm in 1984, Pace Properties has grown into a multi-service commercial real estate company with expertise in all industry sectors. Their dedicated professionals have the intimate market knowledge and strong relationships with tenants, landlords, communities, lenders, and investors that maximize outcomes for their clients.

As a 100% employee-owned company and their culture is collaborative. Their assets are their people. They know their clients. They know the market, and they care about your business.

Notable Transactions/Clients:

• Costco

• Chick-fil-a

• Hobby Lobby

• Home Goods

• IKEA

• Panera Bread

• Shake Shack

• Top Golf

• TJ Maxx

CONSTRUCTION COMPANIES/GENERAL CONTRACTORS

ALSTON CONSTRUCTION COMPANY

1901 Butterfield Road, Suite 1020 Downers Grove, IL 60515

P: 630.437.5810

Website: alstonco.com

Key Contact: Greg Kolinski, Director of Business Development, gkolinski@alstonco.com

Services Provided: Alston offers a diverse background of design-build experience, general contracting and construction management of industrial, commercial, healthcare, retail, and municipal projects. Company Profile: Alston Construction’s success begins and ends with our approach to planning, scheduling, and choosing the right team. We have been adhering to an open and collaborative approach since our founding more than 35 years ago.

Notable/Recent Projects: Project Heartland 1.5 Million SF build to suit distribution facility for Proctor & Gamble in Morris, IL. Lakeshore Manor 210 unit senior living facility in Northwest Indiana. Dynamic Foods 3PL 500,000 SF build to suit distribution and packaging facility in Wilmington, IL. Brown Deer Distribution Center 420,000SF two building speculative distribution center in Milwaukee, WI. 106,000 SF meat packaging facility in Northwest Indiana.

Company Profile: Huntington Construction is a recognized leader in the commercial construction industry serving as a General Contractor and Construction Manager. Huntington has over 30 years of experience in all areas of commercial construction and specializes in tenant improvement work for office, industrial, retail, medical office and medical office as well as design build and ground up construction.

Notable/Recent Projects: Recently Huntington has performed on several ground-up, single tenant developments, a corporate headquarter construction job and hundreds of jobs in-between, in 2019.

MCSHANE CONSTRUCTION COMPANY

9500 West Bryn Mawr Avenue Ste. 200 Rosemont, IL 60018

P: 847.292.4300 | F: 847.292.4310

Website: www.mcshaneconstruction.com

Key Contacts: Mat Dougherty, PE, President, mdougherty@mcshane.com

Services Provided: McShane Construction Company offers more than 35 years of experience providing design-build, design-assist and general construction services on a national basis The firm’s diverse expertise includes build-to-suit and speculative warehouse, distribution and manufacturing facilities, as well as multifamily, commercial and institutional developments.

Company Profile: Headquartered in Rosemont, Illinois with regional offices in Auburn, Alabama, Irvine, California, Phoenix, Arizona, Madison, Wisconsin and Nashville, Tennessee, McShane Construction Company provides comprehensive construction services on a local, regional and national basis for a wide variety of market segments. The firm is recognized as one of the Chicago area’s most diversified and active contracting organizations with a reputation built on honesty, integrity and dependability.

Recent/Notable Project: Industry Center at Melrose Park – the construction of three speculative industrial buildings in Melrose Park, Illinois. The new development incorporates a total of 651,617 square feet.

MERIDIAN DESIGN BUILD

9550 W. Higgins Road, Suite 400 Rosemont, IL 60018

P: 847.374.9200 | F: 847.374.9222

Website: meridiandb.com

Key Contacts: Paul Chuma, President; Howard Green, Executive Vice President

Services Provided: Meridian Design Build provides construction and design/ build construction services on a national basis with a primary focus on industrial, office, medical office, retail and food and beverage work.

Company Profile: With a team of in-house professional project managers, Meridian has extensive experience coordinating the design and construction of new buildings, tenant improvements, and additions/ renovations from 15,000 square feet to 1,000,000+ square feet. Meridian Design Build has been a Member of the U.S. Green Building Council since 2007.

Notable/Recent Projects: Clarius Park Joliet Building #2, Joliet, IL - 906,517 sf speculative industrial facility for Clarius Partners. Commerce Park Chicago Building B, Chicago, IL602,545 sf speculative multi-tenant industrial facility for NorthPoint Development. Halsted Delivery Station, Chicago, IL - 112.000 sf package delivery station on a 17-acre redevelopment site for Prologis.

DEVELOPERS

CENTERPOINT PROPERTIES

1808 Swift Drive

Oak Brook, IL 60523

P: 630.586.8000

Website: centerpoint.com

Key Contacts: Michael Murphy, Chief Development Officer, mmurphy@centerpoint.com; Brian McKiernan, Senior Vice President, bmckiernan@centerpoint.com

Services Provided: CenterPoint Properties is an innovator in the investment, development, and management of industrial real estate and multimodal transportation infrastructure. CenterPoint acquires, develops, redevelops, manages, leases, and sells state-of-the-art warehouse, distribution, and manufacturing facilities near major transportation nodes. Our experts focus on port-proximate distribution infrastructure assets near America’s major population centers.

Company Profile: CenterPoint Properties continuously reimagines what’s possible by creating ingenious solutions to the most complex industrial property, logistics, and supply chain problems. With an agile team, substantial access to capital, and industry-leading expertise, we give customers a competitive edge to ensure their success — no matter how great the challenge.

CONOR COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE

9500 W. Bryn Mawr Avenue, Suite 200

Rosemont, IL 60018

P: 847.692.8700 | F: 847.292.4313

Website: conor.com

Key Contacts: David J. Friedman, President, dfriedman@conor.com; Brian Quigley, Executive Vice President, bquigley@conor.com

Services Provided: Conor Commercial identifies and implements the most suitable commercial real estate strategy to yield increased returns for each real estate opportunity. With offices and seasoned real estate professionals strategically located throughout the country, the firm provides the experience and resources needed to develop and stabilize real estate developments that maximize positive returns to investors and partners.

Company Profile: Conor Commercial Real Estate is the integrated real estate development firm of The McShane Companies headquartered in suburban Chicago, Illinois with regional offices located in Dallas, Houston, Irvine and Phoenix. The firm is active on a local, regional and national basis in the development of master-planned industrial and office parks, multifamily properties, medical office developments and built-to-suit projects for lease or purchase.

PROJECT/CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT FIRMS

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATIONS

VILLAGE OF HOMER GLEN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

14240 W. 151st Street

Homer Glen, IL 60491

P: 708.301.0632

Website: HomerGlenIL.org

Key Contact: Janie Patch, Economic Development Director, jpatch@homerglenil.org

Services: Resource center for brokers, developers, site selectors and businesses providing space and property inventory, trade area demographics, site selection assistance, custom tours, coordination through entitlement process, business opening process guidance and retention services.

Demographic Info: Strategic Will County location 25 miles southwest of Chicago with two I-355 interchanges between I-55 and I-80. Average household income of $137,577. Trade area population of 83,000. Prime commercial corridors include Bell Road, 143rd Street and 159th Street (State Route 7). 159th Street is improved with 4 lanes and access to Lake Michigan water and sanitary sewer.

Recent CRE Activity: The Square at Goodings Grove (106 townhomes) completing construction. The Villas of Old Oak (46 ranch duplexes) under construction. JC Licht now open. Restaurant with drive-thru position available at Homer Glen Bell Plaza with Pet Supplies Plus, Dollar Tree and Taco Bell, SWC 143rd/ Bell.

MICHIGAN CITY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION

Two Cadence Park Plaza Michigan City, IN 46360

P: 219.873.1211

Website: www.edcmc.com

Key Contacts: Clarence Hulse, Executive Director, chulse@edcmc.com

Services/Demographic Info: Michigan City has recognized $1.5 Billion in capital investment over the last 8 years, with more deals - $300 Million Multi-family projects on the horizon. We are located on Lake Michigan with easy access to I-94, I-80 and we are 1 hour drive East of Chicago. Michigan City is home to 32,000 residents with 5.6 Million visitors annually.

Incentives: Waterfront Opportunity Zone, 3 TIF Districts, Facade Improvement Program, Tax based Incentives, Start Up Assistance, and Workforce Training Funds.

Recent CRE Activity: Double Track project ($500 Millions), Michigan City Central Station ($80 Millions), Workforce Apartments 125 units, Waterfront Condominiums 150 Units/Boutique hotel 180 units, 32 Single Family Homes, Shady Creek Winery Expansion - 9,000 SF ($3 Millions), Sullair Hitachi Expansion – 80,000 SF ($33 Millions), Shell-Criterion Expansion ($34 Millions),GAF Expansion – 200,000 SF ($30 Millions), Burn ‘Em Brewing Expansion - ($1.6 Millions), and 30 Independent Restaurants in our Downtown

NAPERVILLE DEVELOPMENT PARTNERSHIP

22 E. Chicago Ave., Ste. 205 Naperville, IL 60540

P: 630.305.7701

Website: www.Naper.org

Key Contact: Christine D. Jeffries, President, CJeffries@Naper.org

Services Provided:The Naperville Development Partnership promotes the City of Naperville and its many businesses. Whether you are an existing business looking to relocate or a new company, we will take the time to show you what Naperville has to offer.

Company Profile: The Naperville Development Partnership is a public / private economic development organization that promotes business interest in the City of Naperville. Our mission is to enhance the economic vitality of Naperville and maintain its outstanding quality of life. This is achieved through the retention and expansion of existing businesses as well as attracting new business to the community

AVISON

YOUNG

Downtown Chicago, IL – 312.957.7600

Suburban Chicago, IL – 847.849.1900

Indianapolis, IN – 317.210.8801

Minneapolis, MN – 612.913.5640

St. Louis, MO – 314.968.0220

Cleveland, OH – 216.609.0303

Columbus, OH – 614.840.0700

Website: avisonyoung.com

Services Provided: Avison Young offers a comprehensive suite of commercial real estate services, including transaction, management, financial and advisory services. We’ve designed our corporate structure to best serve our clients by enhancing collaboration across our organization. Whether you are a user/occupier or an owner/investor, Avison Young is organized to deliver truly integrated solutions to meet your unique needs.

Company Profile: Founded in 1978 to create a more accountable and nimble real estate company, with legacies dating back more than 200 years, Avison Young will never outgrow our values of putting people first in every choice we make. Our purpose is to create net economic, social, and environmental gain for our clients and in the communities in which we work.

Notable Transactions/Clients:

FINANCE & INVESTMENT FIRMS

BELLWETHER ENTERPRISE (BWE)

1375 E. 9th Street, Suite 2400

Cleveland, OH 44114

Website: BWE.com

Key Contacts: Ned Huffman, CEO; DJ Effler, President

Services Provided: As an independent partner of Enterprise Community Partners, Inc., we support its mission of creating and preserving affordable housing in thriving communities. With an unwavering commitment to regional expertise and unmatched customer service, we are making an impact beyond the bottom line. With offices throughout the country, we provide a wide variety of loan products from Life Insurance Companies and Pension Funds, Freddie Mac Optigo™ seller/servicer, Fannie Mae DUS Lender (Multifamily affordable and Market Rate Housing Lender), FHA, USDA and CMBS to name a few. We are Capital on a Mission.

Company Profile: BWE is a national, full-service commercial and multifamily mortgage banking company that puts people and communities first. We provide flexible, competitive financing solutions with streamlined underwriting and enhanced loan servicing for Market Rate, Affordable Housing, Workforce Housing, Manufactured Housing Communities, Seniors Housing, Senior Communities, and Long-term Care Facilities. Our partnership with BWEIS, a rapidly growing investment sales team, is fully integrated with our debt platform on both market rate and affordable transactions.

Service Territory: We originate, close and service loans for multifamily and commercial real estate properties throughout the country.

CENTERPOINT PROPERTIES

1808 Swift Drive

Oak Brook, IL 60523

P: 630.586.8000

Website: centerpoint.com

Key Contacts: Jim Clewlow, Chief Investments Officer, jclewlow@centerpoint.com; Rives Nolen, Senior Vice President, Investments, rnolen@centerpoint.com

Services Provided: CenterPoint Properties is an innovator in the investment, development, and management of industrial real estate and multimodal transportation infrastructure. CenterPoint acquires, develops, redevelops, manages, leases, and sells state-of-the-art warehouse, distribution, and manufacturing facilities near major transportation nodes. Our experts focus on port-proximate distribution infrastructure assets near America’s major population centers.

Company Profile: CenterPoint Properties continuously reimagines what’s possible by creating ingenious solutions to the most complex industrial property, logistics, and supply chain problems. With an agile team, substantial access to capital, and industry-leading expertise, we give customers a competitive edge to ensure their success — no matter how great the challenge.

COLLIERS SECURITIES

90 South Seventh Street, Suite 4300 Minneapolis, MN 55402

P: 612.376.4000

Website: colliers.com (find us under services)

Key Contacts: Jeff Jacobson, EVP | COO; Jeff.Jacobson@colliers.com; Dave Mullen, SVP | Director of Public Finance; David.Mullen@colliers.com

Services Provided: Colliers Securities is a full-service investment bank and registered securities broker-dealer offering a wide array of products and services to meet the needs of individuals and institutional investors nationwide. Services: Public Finance | Individual Investors (bonds, stocks, managed money and insurance products) | Institutional Investors | Investment Banking Company Profile: Over 40 years of experience specializing in investment and capital-raising strategies to meet long-term objectives. Our business has been built on the strength of our longstanding relationships and ability to find innovative financing solutions for our treasured clients and valued industry friends. Member SIPC/FINRA Service Territory: Nationwide

REAL ESTATE LAW FIRMS

GOULD & RATNER

222 N. LaSalle St., Ste. 300 Chicago, IL 60601

P: 312.236.3003 | F: 312.236.3241

Website: gouldratner.com

Key Contact: Linsey Cohen, Chair, Real Estate Practice, lcohen@gouldratner.com

Services Provided: Counsel on nearly all real estate transactions, including purchase, sale and financing of office, industrial, hotel/hospitality and residential/multifamily development, as well as commercial and retail leasing, multiparcel assemblage, tax-deferred exchanges, management agreements, construction financing, litigation and environmental issues.

Company Profile: Gould & Ratner lawyers translate legal knowledge and business acumen into practical solutions that work for our clients, who include entrepreneurs, family businesses, and middle-market and Fortune 500 companies in real estate and many other industries in Chicago and nationwide.

HAHN LOESER & PARKS LLP

200 Public Square, Suite 2800 Cleveland, OH 44114

P: 216.621.0150

200 West Madison Street, Suite 2700 Chicago, IL 60606

P: 312.637.3000

Key Contacts: Aaron S. Evenchik, Partner, National Chair, Real Estate Group, aevenchik@hahanlaw.com; Joel T. Cooper, Partner, jcooper@hahnlaw.com

Services Provided: Our real estate practice is national in scope across all asset classes, and we assist our clients with structuring and implementing acquisitions, dispositions, joint ventures, financings (public and private), leasing, and development matters. Clients include local and national property owners, investors, developers, contractors, asset and property managers, and financial institutions.

Company Profile: With over 140 attorneys practicing from offices in Chicago, Cleveland, Columbus, San Diego, Fort Myers, and Naples, we are always focused on our clients’ missions. We render innovative solutions across multiple areas of the law and legal disciplines. We serve individuals and businesses doing business locally, regionally, and globally.

REINHART BOERNER VAN DEUREN S.C.

1000 N Water Street, Suite 1700

Milwaukee, WI 53202

P: 414.298.1000

Website: reinhartlaw.com

Key Contact: Joseph Shumow, Shareholder, jshumow@ reinhartlaw.com

Services Provided: Reinhart is a full-service, business-oriented law firm that delivers innovative, value-added solutions for today’s most important real estate needs, including land use and zoning; taxincremental financing; tax credits; leasing; construction; and condemnation and eminent domain issues.

Company Profile: With the largest real estate practice in Wisconsin and offices throughout the Midwest and across the country, Reinhart’s attorneys offer clients customized real estate insight rooted in broad knowledge and deep experience to help you capitalize on opportunities no matter where you do business.

TAFT LAW

111 East Wacker, Suite 2800

Chicago, IL 60601

P: 312.527.4000

Taft attorneys serve individuals and businesses throughout the Midwest with offices in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, and Ohio. For a full list of our locations, visit www.taftlaw.com/about/offices.

Website: taftlaw.com

Key Contacts: Kathryn Kovitz Arnold, Co-Chair, Real Estate Practice Group, karnold@taftlaw.com

Mark D. Rubenfire, Co-Chair, Real Estate Practice Group, mrubenfire@taftlaw.com

Services Provided: Enlightened legal counsel is a critical component of commercial real estate transactions. Taft’s 140+ real estate attorneys deliver timely, thoughtful counsel to navigate the complexities brought upon by the fluidity of current conditions.

Company Profile: At Taft, delivering outstanding legal performance to help clients succeed is what drives and motivates our 800 attorneys every day. Taft has offices in Chicago, Ill.; Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton and Delaware, Ohio; Detroit, Mich.; Indianapolis, Ind.; Minneapolis, Minn.; Denver, Col.; Covington, Ky., Southfield, Mich., and Washington, DC. The firm practices across a wide range of industries, in virtually every area of law, including Bankruptcy and Restructuring; Business; Finance; Employment and Labor Relations; Energy; Environmental; Intellectual Property; Health and Life Sciences; Litigation; Paytech and Payment Systems; Private Client Services; Public Affairs; Real Estate, and Tax. With a proven track record of experience since 1885, the firm offers breadth and depth of legal expertise coupled with a trusted business perspective to help our clients reach their goals.

ULMER & BERNE LLP

1660 West 2nd Street, Suite 1100 Cleveland, OH 44113

P: 216.583.7000

Website: Ulmer.com

Key Contact: Lori Pittman Haas, Group Leader, Real Estate Practice; lhaas@ulmer.com

Firm Profile: Ulmer & Berne, established in 1908, focuses on exceeding client expectations and delivering superior, customized legal solutions for an exceptional value. From offices in Cleveland, Cincinnati, Columbus, Chicago, New York, Washington, D.C., and Boca Raton, Ulmer’s attorneys handle cutting-edge, complex matters on a national basis across all practice areas, while retaining the work ethic, rates, and user-friendly attitudes reflective of the firm’s Midwest origins.

Services Provided: All aspects of commercial real estate, including but not limited to: urban development, multi-family development, and shopping center development; environmental issues; tax credit enhancements for financing, such as New Markets Tax Credits, Historic Tax Credits, and Low Income Housing Tax Credits; private and public financing; property taxation; eminent domain; land use; tax-deferred exchanges; leasing (retail, office, and industrial/warehouse); acquisitions and divestitures, including skilled nursing and assisted living facilities; and portfolio transactions.

MULTIFAMILY FINANCE FIRMS

BELLWETHER ENTERPRISE (BWE)

1375 E. 9th Street, Suite 2400

Cleveland, OH 44114

Website: BWE.com

Key Contacts: Ned Huffman, CEO; DJ Effler, President Services Provided: As an independent partner of Enterprise Community Partners, Inc., we support its mission of creating and preserving affordable housing in thriving communities. With an unwavering commitment to regional expertise and unmatched customer service, we are making an impact beyond the bottom line. With offices throughout the country, we provide a wide variety of loan products from Life Insurance Companies and Pension Funds, Freddie Mac Optigo™ seller/servicer, Fannie Mae DUS Lender (Multifamily affordable and Market Rate Housing Lender), FHA, USDA and CMBS to name a few. We are Capital on a Mission.

Company Profile: BWE is a national, full-service commercial and multifamily mortgage banking company that puts people and communities first. We provide flexible, competitive financing solutions with streamlined underwriting and enhanced loan servicing for Market Rate, Affordable Housing, Workforce Housing, Manufactured Housing Communities, Seniors Housing, Senior Communities, and Long-term Care Facilities. Our partnership with BWEIS, a rapidly growing investment sales team, is fully integrated with our debt platform on both market rate and affordable transactions.

Service Territory: We originate, close and service loans for multifamily and commercial real estate properties throughout the country.

COLLIERS MORTGAGE

(Colliers Mortgage is the brand used by Colliers Mortgage LLC and Colliers Funding LLC.)

90 South Seventh Street, Suite 4300z Minneapolis, MN 55402

P: 612.376.4000

Website: colliers.com ( find us under services)

Key Contacts: Tim Larkin, SVP Agency Financing, tim.larkin@colliers.com; Gregory Bolin, SVP Commercial Financing, greg.bolin@colliers.com

Services Provided: Colliers Mortgage offers a comprehensive and wide range of products and services designed to meet our clients’ financing, funding and capitalization needs. Our experts are available to help clients’ access federal agency loan programs, structure competitive financing packages for borrowers and lenders, or identify capital sources for capitalization requirements.

Company Profile: Colliers Mortgage is a full-service nationwide mortgage banking firm. We connect multifamily owners and developers with the appropriate financing and funding options to execute their project plans. We are one of the industry’s top providers of multifamily financing and are currently servicing in excess of $10 billion of loans.

Service Territory: Nationwide