Future of Chicago Suburbs Real Estate Summit

Adam Firsel is the founder and managing principal of Core Acquisitions. Adam started Core with the intention of creating a full service and fully integrated commercial real estate organization. With Adam’s storied career including investment banking, development, property management, and acquisitions, he brings a wide range of roles and diversity of experience to Core business and culture. Adam graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a Bachelors of Business Administration majoring in real estate and urban land economics. After college, Adam was a real estate investment banker with GMAC Commercial Mortgage in Denver, Colorado. In 2003, Adam moved back to his hometown of Chicago to become the Director of Finance & Development for Mid-America Development Partners. Adam then joined Crossroads Development Partners as a Principal and subsequently became the Director of Acquisitions for Next Realty. In 2011, Firsel formed Core Equities, LLC which focused on property management, leasing, receiverships, acquisitions, and development. In 2014, Adam renamed the company to Core Acquisitions, LLC when he partnered with Core’s other Principal, Bradley Joseph, to focus primarily on value-add acquisitions, property management, and development projects. Through a career that has allowed Adam to succeed in many roles, he has focused expertise in development & construction management, project analysis, and asset management among other skill sets. Adam has been involved with the complete life cycle of many complicated and successful projects in all property types including retail, office, hotel, mixed-use, apartments, and industrial. The transaction types have been note purchases, auctions, joint ventures, public-private partnerships, and traditional arms-length transactions. All said, Adam has been the managing principal on over 25 projects in the last 6 years, and in his career has been involved on the principal side in over one hundred projects totaling over two billion dollars of project cost and millions of square feet of real estate.

Ramzi Hassan is the President of Edwards Realty Company, a leading Commercial Development and Property Management firm based in Orland Park, IL. Hassan has completed over $250M in retail and mixed-use projects since 2003, finding significant opportunity and upside in distressed assets. Hassan’s keen sense of how community drives commerce, combined with his involvement in the music and fashion industry have helped inform his real estate strategy. Edwards Realty Company owns and manages more than one million square feet of commercial real estate property in the midwest. The firm is actively investing in new mixed-use properties in key growth markets. Hassan earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Finance with a concentration in Real Estate from DePaul University. He is an active member of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) and President-Elect of the Orland Park Area Chamber of Commerce and a Member of the Economic Development Committee (EDC) in the Village of Burr Ridge. Ramzi holds his managing broker license in Illinois, Missouri and Michigan.

Chris Coleman is the Vice President of Development with responsibility for all of Wingspan Development Group’s lines of business. His responsibilities include development oversight, fostering new debt and equity relationships, and implementing Wingspan’s overall strategic plan. Prior to Wingspan, Coleman was the Chicago Division President for William Ryan Homes, Inc. Chris started in the real estate business in 1988 as a market analyst with Chicago developer and home builder The Zale Group. His career path took him to Orlando, FL with Morrison Homes and Atlanta, GA with John Wieland Homes, a National Builder of the Year winner. ​Coleman returned to Chicago in 1997 to launch his own firm specializing in in-fill redevelopment; leveraging deep experience in entitlement, land development and construction, focusing on communities close to Chicago. Coleman is active in a variety of industry and charitable organizations, and outside of work he enjoys spending time with his wife and three children.

Richard H. Tucker, CEO, formed Tucker in March 1996. Tucker draws on Mr. Tucker’s 39 years of experience in the development, redevelopment, financing, leasing, and management of real estate assets. Utilizing his expertise, Mr. Tucker has developed and/or acquired over ten million square feet valued in excess of $1 billion. Mr. Tucker is a leader in various influential industry associations. His leadership roles include past Co-Chair of the National Open Air Committee; past Director of the Illinois State Committee; and past Chairman of the Illinois governmental Affairs Committee. Mr. Tucker is also an active member of both the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) and the Urban Land Institute (ULI) and serves as a frequent panelist at various national real estate conferences and other educational forums.

Kevin Kramer is the Director of Economic Development for the Village of Hoffman Estates, Illinois in the northwest suburbs of Chicago. He’s worked in this position since 2013 after working as a planner and economic developer for Barrington, IL. He has facilitated all types development in Hoffman Estates from entertainment to data center, retail to Metroburbs. He helped found Next Level Northwest, a small business accelerator, and the Greater Chicagoland Advanced Manufacturing Partnership to build a workforce pipeline in the manufacturing industry. He graduated from the University of Illinois with a degree in Urban and Regional Planning. He became a member of Lambda Alpha in 2020 and serves on several committees including the ICSC Illinois State Committee and the Next Generation Leadership Network, the International Economic Development Council’s Young Professionals Advisory Committee, the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning’s Economic Development Committee and the Young Professionals group for the Illinois Economic Development Association. Kevin has earned his Certified Economic Developer status. While he loves all things economic development he also loves DIY projects around the house, hiking in the mountains (not in Illinois of course), and reading a book on the deck while enjoying a craft beer, fine whiskey or sparkling water. Kevin lives in the Chicago suburbs with his wife and five children.

Molly is a partner in the Chicago Office of Siegel Jennings, a national property tax law firm. As a litigator and trusted advisor, she collaborates with Owners, Asset Managers, Acquisition teams and Tax Departments to identify, create and execute property tax reduction strategies. She becomes a member of her clients’ management team. Her goal is to maximize and protect the full potential of real estate assets, minimize related tax liabilities, and resolve disputes with tax authorities and government entities. Molly’s client experience ranges from family owned 1031 portfolios to national commercial investment funds, including special use properties such as hospital campuses to multi-million-dollar manufacturing facilities. Her comprehensive understanding of the commercial real estate market was developed in part through her time as a real estate broker in the Chicago area prior to starting her legal career. Molly regularly represents clients in hearings before review boards, local assessors’ offices, the Illinois Property Tax Appeal Board, and the circuit courts.