Congratulations to Imperial Realty’s father-and-son team of Larry and Alfred Klairmont, who were inducted into the Chicago Association of Realtors’ Hall of Fame. Larry Klairmont (center), a winner of two Purple Hearts, two Silver Stars and a Bronze Star for his service in World War II, began his real estate career in 1956. Alfred (right) joined him after graduating from the University of Illinois.
The Imperial story started when Larry bought two industrial buildings for his successful dry cleaning business, Imperial Cleaners. With 100 locations, it was the largest dry cleaning franchise in Chicago. Larry sold Imperial Cleaners in 1962, and bought and redeveloped his first investment property at 636 Central Ave in Highland Park.
That purchase gave 10-year-old Al a taste for real estate, and he joined his father in the business in 1978, after graduating from U of I with a BA in economics and real estate. Al is the educational chairman of the Harold E. Eisenberg Foundation in Northbrook, which offers 13 real estate programs unavailable elsewhere.
Together, the two built Imperial into Chicago's fourth-largest office space manager and 11th-largest property manager. The Klairmonts have acquired and redeveloped 150 commercial properties, and Imperial currently manages 3,000 tenants in over 10M SF of commercial space.
