Over the next three years, The LaSalle Group plans to add 24 to 36 new Autumn Leaves Memory Care Assisted Living communities across the US, says newly hired COO Joe Jasmon (here giving his family a hand). His new role was created to implement that growth strategy, he tells us. The firm, which has 35 Autumn Leaves properties open or under construction, is particularly sweet on the Chicago suburbs. Often the “big boys” aren’t comfortable going into secondary markets (monsters under the bed, etc.), he says, so the idea is to be first or second going into a market and set the bar high.

Locally, the firm’s working on two new facilities (most have about 46 to 50 units) in Glen Ellyn and Arlington Heights, with projects brewing in Gurnee (closing in May) and on the North Shore, regional director of development Matt Krummick (above) tell us. It's also in the process of proposing a multi-story assisted living residence within the Wheeling TIF district near the new Wheeling Town Center, Matt adds. When looking for a site, LaSalle needs about two and a half to three acres in a high-traffic area, a convenient location for families of residents Joe says. Other cities on its short list: Milwaukee, Houston, San Antonio, and Austin. (Florida, Atlanta, and South Carolina are on the radar, too.) When Joe’s not working, he draws and paints to preserve his sanity, he tells us.