Building Change: Chicago Repositioning and Conversions Summit

Sheilah Carroll is Knickpoint Ventures Creative Director, overseeing design and construction, marketing, and leasing of The Field's development in Logan Square. Sheilah's background in architecture, design, strategy and change management has allowed her to develop a holistic view of the end to end process of commercial real estate. Prior to joining Knickpoint Sheilah was most recently a Manager in CBRE’s Workplace Strategy Team. Blending her background in architecture and interior design with analytical research, she helped create solutions for clients that addressed both the cultural and spatial needs of companies from a wide variety of industries. Prior to CBRE, Sheilah was a Designer in the Gensler Chicago office focused primarily on technology and consumer goods companies, and working on projects from visioning and conceptual development through implementation. Sheilah holds a Masters in Interior Architecture from the Rhode Island School of Design and a Bachelor in Arts in Architecture from Washington University in St. Louis.

Over the past 15 years, Leon I. Walker, Esq. has spearheaded cutting-edge community development projects that have generated thousands of new jobs, and brought grocery stores and health care services into the food and health care deserts on Chicago’s south side. Mr. Walker is an innovator who continues to be at the forefront of utilizing new financing tools and blending funding streams. During his career, Mr. Walker has structured more than $100 million in New Markets Tax Credits (NMTCs), including at the award-winning Roseland Medical Center, which was the first project to finance new construction with NMTCs in Chicago. He was also the first Chicago developer to use crowdfunding for new construction, raising $500,000 in two days from 61 investors in 26 states as part of the $20 million capital stack for the nationally recognized Englewood Square retail center, anchored by Whole-Foods. As the Managing Partner of DL3 Realty, Mr. Walker works closely with municipalities, anchor institutions, and Fortune 500 companies to implement projects that are sensitive to a neighborhood’s character while creating economic opportunities for those who live there. Mr. Walker’s projects are more than just bricks and mortar. They are designed to provide a stimulus that ultimately lifts economic prospects and quality-of-life for local residents. He calls his work “Venture Development,” as described in a recently released discussion paper that can be downloaded at dl3realty.com/venturedevelopment. Current projects include a new Jewel-Osco that will be the first grocery store to come to the Woodlawn community in over 40 years, helping to accelerate local revitalization efforts underway through the University of Chicago, Obama Presidential Center and local neighborhood organizations. He recently opened the new UI Mile Square Health Center in the South Shore neighborhood, collaborating with the YWCA to creatively co-locate critical health care and child care services at one site to better support the needs of families. He is also collaborating with Central City Productions to develop the nation’s first National Museum of Gospel Music, a highly inspirational project in the historic Bronzeville community on the site once occupied by Pilgrim Baptist Church, known as the birthplace of gospel. Mr. Walker is also leading the effort to develop social innovation hubs in Woodlawn, Chatham and Morgan Park. These new developments are anchored by some of Chicago’s most seasoned non-profit tenants including a Lighthouse call center providing 400 new jobs, a new Gift of Hope training center designed to prepare new candidates for medical careers, and University of Chicago sponsored co-working space for social enterprises. Given his catalytic projects and investment philosophy, Mr. Walker is often invited to speak to local and national organizations regarding economic development, Venture Development, and his experience with crowdfunding. Audiences have included the Chicago Bar Association, Urban Land Institute, American Planning Association, American Bankers Association, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, International Council of Shopping Centers, and the Entrepreneur Podcast Network. Mr. Walker serves as a Board member of the Greater Chicago Food Depository, the Marshall Bennett Institute of Real Estate at Roosevelt University and as a Commissioner of the Roseland Community Medical District. He is a member of the Economic Club of Chicago, Realty Club of Chicago, International Council of Shopping Centers Government Relations Committee, and The Business Leadership Council. Prior to taking on the leadership of DL3 Realty, Mr. Walker worked in corporate real estate services at Jones Lang LaSalle, and in real estate capital markets at Citicorp Securities. He is a graduate of the University of Chicago’s Law School and Booth School of Business, and received his Bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan. He lives with his wife and two children in the Kenwood historic district on Chicago’s south side.

Chad Huber serves as Vice President of Preconstruction for W.E. O’Neil’s Chicago region and has more than 27 years of construction industry experience. His deep understanding of preconstruction operations and extensive expertise in adaptive reuse hospitality projects have made him a key leader in the industry. Chad has provided executive oversight for some of W.E. O'Neil's most complicated projects, including the transformation of the historic Continental and Commercial National Bank Building (Daniel Burnham, 1914) at 208 S. LaSalle into a luxury 234-key hotel and the redevelopment of the Roanoke Building (Holabird & Roche, 1915) at 11 S. LaSalle into a 382-key hotel.

Drew Millard is not just a seasoned professional with a degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of Illinois, he's also a visionary leader in the real estate investment world. Licensed as a Professional Engineer (P.E.), Drew has always had an analytical mind, which has been invaluable in his unique approach to business. After spending the first eight years of his career in engineering consulting, Drew recognized an opportunity to merge his technical expertise with his passion for real estate. In 2008, he founded 33 Realty, a real estate investment firm with business lines in Brokerage, Construction, Leasing, Maintenance and Property Management. Applying that vertically integrated strategy, 33 soon catapulted onto Inc. 5000's list of the fastest-growing private companies in the nation three times over four years. Once the infrastructure of 33 was set and had strong leadership, it was time to leverage those business and build a real estate portfolio. In 2010, with a strong team and proven strategies under his belt, Drew cofounded Addison Capital Investors (ACI). Here, Drew took on a multitude of responsibilities, overseeing everything from construction to property management, and from leasing to dispositions. He also got involved in acquisitions, equity syndication, and even started scouting new geographical markets for expansion. His hands-on approach and well-designed infrastructure have played a key role in generating excellent returns for ACI's investors. Outside of the boardroom, he serves as a mentor, hits the slopes as an avid skier, and contributes actively to his community. It's this balanced approach to life that makes Drew not just an effective leader, but also a relatable one, guiding ACI and 33 towards a sustainable national success.

As Chief Operating Officer of McHugh Construction, Ray Cisco oversees day-to-day operations of all departments while focusing on driving the quality and profitability of the company. He partners with the senior leadership team to evaluate and evolve current strategies to ensure ongoing success, including growth within the company, acquiring new clients, and expansion into new sectors. Starting with McHugh in 2009, Ray began his career in Chicago’s Kinzie Park where he had a role in building three of the neighborhood’s high rises, eventually going on to complete a total of seven projects with this developer. Ray has also overseen a number of developments in Chicago’s booming West Loop neighborhood including McDonald’s Global Headquarters. His ability to create trusted relationships and repeat clients has been essential to the company and has also provided McHugh the opportunity to expand the company’s mid-rise work into the suburban market. Ray’s success in driving profitability and dedication to the company and clients has helped position us for success by solidifying our reputation among developers and providing better visibility in the Chicago market.

Mr. Carata joined Epstein in 2018, and has over 20 years of design experience. As Epstein’s Design Director, he is responsible for establishing and managing the design and delivery of a multitude of project types and scales, including hotels, retail, higher education, office, residential and mixed use high-rise developments. Patrick works closely with clients to understand their objectives and strives for functional, yet unique, architectural solutions of the highest quality and design that exceed client goals. Some of Patrick’s current projects include a hotel & residential development in Owensboro, Kentucky, a new corporate & mixed- use campus in Romania as well as a new performance center in Bainbridge Island, Washington.

Delph Gustitus, AIA, has focused on extending the useful service lives and improving the performance of buildings for over 25 years. He began his career as a design architect, then changed paths by moving to a consulting A/E firm where he developed the technical expertise and collaborative style that helped him launch his own firm in 1995. He has inspected, repaired, restored and preserved hundreds of buildings, including many of historic significance. As Principal, Delph manages a diverse portfolio and approaches each new project with the same level of dedication and commitment. Many of the firm's services are for adaptive re-use projects of existing and historic buildings. As a former board member of Landmarks Illinois, a leading preservation advocacy group, Delph has taken an active role in helping preserve the historic fabric of our built environment. He has worked for many years to promote the inherent benefits of maintaining and re-using our existing buildings.

Celadon Partners, LLC (“Celadon”) Celadon Partners was formed in 2020 as a joint venture between Scott Henry and Aron Weisner for the development of affordable housing. The entity evolved from Celadon Holdings, LLC, a company previously founded and operated by Mr. Henry, a former executive from JPMorgan Chase’s LIHTC investment group, since 2008. Based in Chicago, the company is active as a developer in multiple markets throughout the United States. The team brings significant affordable housing development and finance experience based on experience from a diverse set of backgrounds. The firm has completed affordable housing redevelopments in seven states totaling over 1,600 units. Overview of Project Experience & Approach The color “celadon” that combines the balance of blue’s essence of tranquility and serenity with green’s essence of growth and renewal. To us, this balance symbolizes our commitment to an environmentally sensitive approach to our work to create healthy, efficient, and affordable communities. The end goal for all of Celadon’s properties, whether they are newly constructed or redeveloped, is to be the preferred place to live in the market during the entire investment horizon and beyond. We prioritize building healthy, energy-efficient, and service-enriched living environments for our residents and the communities we work in. This requires us to carefully select the best locations and provide an attractive amenities/services and quality environment that meets the needs of the community in which it is based. We prioritize property management and are active owners to assure partners and investors that the asset will be well-maintained, while also being attentive to the needs of our resident population. Our core principles are: Reliability: Celadon Partners is proud of our commitment to deliver on promises by playing our role in meeting the housing needs of community residents throughout the construction and management periods. Creativity: Celadon uses open-minded and innovative thinking and close collaboration with community and public and private partners to find solutions to development challenges where others are unable. Experience: We have the experience to develop projects of significant scale and complexity having completed numerous affordable housing developments, building trust with our partners through transparency and collaboration, successfully utilizing tax credits and other financial products, and being a pre-qualified developer of choice for many municipal programs.

Mr. Pachucki is Founder and Principal of the IBT Group LLC, which focuses on creative urban developments in metropolitan areas. Current projects include 1200 Fulton, a full-block creative office, retail and entertainment complex in the West Fulton Market area of Chicago. Mr. Pachucki is responsible for strategic management of all development activities for IBT Group including pipeline, acquisition, financing, planning, leasing and project execution. He has over 30 years of real estate experience and has been involved in the development of over ten million of square feet of office, residential and retail space throughout the country during his career. Prior to the formation of the IBT Group, Mr. Pachucki started and oversaw retail development in the Midwest for Opus Group of Companies, a family owned real estate company which was one of the largest privately held real estate companies in the country. Prior to OPUS he spent several years with Balcor as Vice president where he was responsible for an extensive national portfolio of 2,000,000 square feet of commercial space and 60,000 residential units. An architect by training, Mr. Pachucki spent several years with at the time the largest architectural firm in Wisconsin, Mochon, Schutte, Hackworthy & Juerisson, where he was involved in various aspects of the design process for institutional and commercial buildings including airports, schools and residential projects. Mr. Pachucki graduated from the University of Wisconsin with a Bachelor of Science in Architecture and also completed graduate level studies at the University of Wisconsin Graduate School of Architecture and Urban Planning.