Chicago Major Projects Update

Regina Stilp has been a visionary force in commercial real estate for more than two decades, developing sustainable, desirable properties that galvanize communities. She embraces projects with a purpose, such as the Bronzeville Lakefront development on Chicago’s South Side and properties in the U.S. Southeast, which infuse hope into areas that will benefit from inclusive economic development. Regina was one of the first employees at Sterling Bay and rose to principal. She was behind the design and execution of some of Chicago’s most architecturally acclaimed developments of the 2000s, including the creation of Google’s Midwest headquarters and the redevelopment of Oprah Winfrey’s Harpo Studios into a showcase global HQ for McDonald’s. Dedicated to diversifying real estate development, Regina prioritizes partnering with minority- and women-owned businesses. At Bronzeville Lakefront, for instance, minority-owned businesses comprise 65% of the project. She serves on the advisory board of First Women’s Bank, one of the few women-owned U.S. banks. She is a member of the CREW Chicago network of women in commercial real estate and the Economic Club of Chicago. Regina is an intrepid traveler: She has set foot on every continent — yes, even Antarctica — and has visited every U.S. National Park. (There are 63, if you’re wondering.) A graduate of the University of Iowa, she lives in Wilmette with her family.

Teresa Córdova is the Director of the Great Cities Institute (GCI) at the University of Illinois at Chicago. She is also Professor of Urban Planning and Policy in the College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs (CUPPA). Professor Córdova received her Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of California, Berkeley in 1986. As an applied theorist, political economist, and community-based planner, Professor Córdova approaches her work as a scholarship of engagement in which research, pedagogy, and service are integrated. Throughout her career, Teresa has engaged with communities in and outside the university and is an expert in community/university partnerships and methodologies of engaged research. In addition to strategies for community and economic development, her work focuses on global/local dynamics and the impacts of global economic restructuring on local communities, including impacts of resource extraction. Professor Córdova has been an elected and appointed member and/or chair of national, regional and local boards, commissions and steering committees of federal, regional, county and city governments, community development corporations, grassroots organizations, editorial boards, research centers, professional associations, planning organizations, policy groups, civic and advisory councils, coalitions, and campus committees. She has been instrumental in affecting economic development policy and projects, the provision and design of infrastructure, local governance, and neighborhood change. Dr. Córdova sits on the Cook County Economic Development Advisory Committee (EDAC) and The Cook County Small Business Advisory Committee. She was Chair of the Chicago Plan Commission from 2018-2022 and served on the transition committee for Governor J.B. Pritzker on Job Creation and Economic Opportunity. Professor Córdova recently joined the Board of Directors of the Grand Victoria Foundation and has rejoined the Board of Manufacturing Renaissance. She is a member of The Board of Directors of the Illinois Humanities Council; The Kennedy-King College Community Advisory Committee (CAC); the Board of Directors for Children’s Advocates for Change; and the Advisory Board of Chicago Community Trust’s We Rise Together. She is an Associate Editor for Economic Development Quarterly and sits on the inaugural editorial board of Local Development and Society and The Journal of Right Wing Studies.She is an affiliate faculty of UIC’s Departments of Sociology; Gender and Women Studies; and Latino and Latin American Studies. She is also a member of the Executive Committee of UIC’s Institute for the Study of Research on Race and Public Policy (IRRPP). Since April 2020, she has worked closely with IllinoisUnidos: Illinois Latino COVID-19 Initiative and served as co-chair of its Workplace Committee.

Our Founder and CEO, Casey McCormick is the premier permit expediting consultant in the United States. With over 20 years of experience, he has perfected a high service model to keep projects ahead of schedule and teams updated on projects of all sizes. From Tenant Improvement, to mega-developments Casey's portfolio speaks for itself. Casey is a graduate of Indiana University.

Dave is a Senior Vice President at F.H. Paschen, where he advises business strategy and manages pursuits. He started his career in 1986 and has worked as an Estimator, Project Engineer, Project Manager, Superintendent, Chief Estimator, Operations VP, Senior VP, and President. Dave led the teams responsible for building some of Chicago’s most iconic projects such as Trump Tower, Aqua, Wanda Vista, 2 Prudential, and the United Center, among others. With over 35 years of industry experience, Dave is still driven today by the reason he started in construction; he loves to build. He considers himself a weekend construction warrior and says that his wife’s rule is that he can have any tool provided he uses it to build her something. When he’s not building, Dave cherishes time with his wife and their four kids.

As a founding principal of Structured Development, LLC, J. Michael Drew has been engaged in the real estate development and construction management business for nearly 40 years. Michael matriculated at the University of Illinois where he studied Business Administration and Architecture. Over 25 years as a general contractor, Michael has had extensive experience in all phases of the construction process, especially scheduling of labor forces and subcontractors and comparative purchasing of material and equipment. Notable projects completed include City Hall Lobby and Entrance Renovations, Marshall Field and State of Illinois Pedways, Clark Lake and Roosevelt Subway Stations, McCormick Place Expansion, and numerous utility tunnel installations. He was an active participant in the conversion and renovation of obsolete loft buildings to commercial and residential reuse throughout the City, including Riverworks on Goose Island, Lincoln Lofts in Lakeview, 1415 Dayton and 1333 Kingsbury in the Halsted Triangle. During his tenure as a principal of Structured Development, the firm completed over 2,000,000 square feet of product including Lincoln Park Center, Blackhawk on Halsted, Kingsbury Center, and Kendall College at Riverworks. Structured Development is the Managing Partner on the “nationally significant” New City mixed use project. Structured was awarded the Adaptive Reuse Project of 2008 by the Landmark Preservation Council for its historic conversion of the Chicago and Northwestern Powerhouse to office and retail. Michael represented the Builders Association of Greater Chicago on the City’s Minority Relations Committee, served on the recent Land Use Task Force Committee, and is a long term member of the International Council of Shopping Centers, Urban Land Institute, and Lambda Alpha International. He is a 20 year member of World Presidents Organization, and a past President of Olympia Fields Country Club. Michael has served on the Advisory Board for the Marshall Bennett Institute of Real Estate at Roosevelt University for over a decade.

In his role as Vice President of Development for Habitat Affordable Group, Jeff Head manages the financing and development for our affordable housing portfolio. Between 1998 and 2013, while leading Habitat’s court-appointed receivership of the Chicago Housing Authority, he was part of the leadership team that managed redevelopment of some of the largest public housing sites in the country, including Cabrini Green, the Henry Horner Homes and the ABLA Homes developments. ​ Over his 20 years with Habitat, Jeff has worked with agencies such as the Chicago Housing Authority, Illinois Housing Development Authority, City of Chicago and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. He has been involved in transactions that have invested more than $1 billion in Chicago neighborhood housing developments. ​ Prior to joining Habitat, Jeff worked on a variety of urban development programs as an assistant to Mayor Richard M. Daley at the City of Chicago. He holds an MUPP from University of Illinois at Chicago College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs.

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.

Katriina helps clients navigate challenging land use and zoning issues throughout the City of Chicago and surrounding suburbs, paving the way for successful developments. She is the Managing Partner of the Firm's Chicago office. As a dedicated and highly motivated business partner to a diverse range of clients, Katriina cares deeply about her clients' success. She shares their passions and concerns, and works proactively to build successful development strategies and anticipate roadblocks in the development approval process. She combines a deep understanding of highly technical and constantly evolving regulations with the strong relationships she's built with zoning and economic development departments across the Chicago region. With this unique focus – on process and on people – Katriina guides clients through complex regulatory, community and political frameworks and provides a clear pathway to municipal land use approvals.