Return of the Schmooze

May 19, 2011 | 8:00 am ET Staff Reporter

Chilly weather and a Bulls playoff game couldn't keep 400 top real estate pros away from Bisnow's epic Schmoozarama II at Fulton's on the River last night.

From brokers to contractors and engineers to building owners, we had a great variety of folks and some good networking filling the downstairs of the riverwalk restaurant. Next time we promise warmer weather so we can make better use of the outdoor space.

It was beers all around for Continental Placer's Frank Santella and US Equities' Arnie Tupuritis and John Becker. John is doing program management for a new 1.2M SF, $700M hospital project at the University of Chicago. Arnie just finished redeveloping the east retail space at Presidential Towers, which will house a new FFC fitness center and one of the city's many planned Walmarts. Both agree that Frank, who does due diligence, makes their jobs possible.

Our new sponsor LifeStart Wellness Network sent Tyler Webb,Sharon Mehalek, Katie Folkema, and Mike Flanagan to tell schmoozers about their projects. They build out and manage gym spaces at office towers. They have 17 in the CBD right now, including the recently finished 2 N LaSalle, 2 S LaSalle, and 180 N LaSalle. They also provide health and fitness consulting and services to tenants.

Chicago Title's Ed Burton and Cindy Malone have been working with Pircher Nichols & Meeks' David Pezza for years. Their latest transaction together involved a 230k SF shopping center in Nebraska where an investor bought the note, foreclosed on it, and then financed the sale of the project. David's also looking forward to seeing the casino in Des Plaines open in Q3. Pircher helped gather the land parcels for the casino site.

It seems like we see Servcorp's Angela Doehmel and Kelsey Balk everywhere. They represent the individual office centers at 300 N LaSalle and 155 N Wacker, which are 90% and 75% leased. Angela says that's about in line with occupancy rates in the whole building. Thanks again for sponsoring!

The Missner Group's Glen Missner and Daniel Kawahara got into the spirit of the schmooze. They're working on building a new specialized USDA facility for processing juice concentrates in Niles. They're also seeing a big pick up in demand for contractors, which means five-time Iron Man finisher Glen will have to spend more time at the office.

Our gracious sponsors Reed Construction's Bill Birck and Michael Machat joined Bear Construction's Scott Kurinsky for a quick chat before heading out to watch the Bulls. Reed is completing a full-floor build-out for Evraz at the Aon Center, a space for ad agency Laughlin Constable at 200 S Michigan, and a new MRI Center at Rush University Medical Center. Scott says they're stealing all his work.

And finally, here's the man with the plan, Bisnow's Michael Farber. He's organized all of our Chicago events and has been a riot to work with over the last two years. Thanks for all your help and hope you won't untag this photo on Facebook.

Return of the Schmooze

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