State of the Chicago Office: Where We Stand Today

Where Chicagoland office stands and how it compares to nationwide trends

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  Brian Atkinson

  Managing Director

  Hines

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  Phil Geiger

  Phil Geiger started at Stream Realty Partners in November 2022 as a Managing Director in Chicago. He is responsible for tenant representation, transaction management, and new client and business pursuits. During his career in commercial real estate, Phil has handled more than 300 tenant representation transactions valued at approximately $1.75 billion with a total square footage of seven million square feet. Phil specializes in tenant representation and has focused on large corporate occupiers, multi-market portfolio companies, tech/trading firms, and non-profit organizations throughout his career. Before joining Stream, he was a Managing Director at JLL, where he was a top 10% revenue producer nationally in 2019. Phil is active in his local community, acting as a board member for a number of community events and volunteering as a coach in Wilmette, IL. He and his wife have lived in Wilmette since 2013 and have three children. Phil attended Colby College in Waterville, Maine, and played four years of baseball.

  Stream Realty

  Managing Director

  Phil Geiger

  Managing Director

  Stream Realty

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  Nosa Ehimwenman

  Growing up around the construction industry, Nosa knew early on where he wanted to make his career. Nosa worked throughout high school as a laborer and carpenter alongside his father on properties in the city of Chicago, gaining a life-long passion for construction and a focused work ethic. Before starting his own company, Nosa worked with Gilbane Building Company for 10 years, quickly becoming one of the organization’s youngest senior managers. It was in July of 2013 that he decided to leave their Special Projects Group and begin what would become Bowa Construction. Nosa’s experiences in construction management span through K-12, Mission Critical, Higher Education, Retail, Healthcare, interior renovations, Higher education, Residential, and Financial Institutions. Nosa holds an MBA from Purdue University and a Bachelors in Construction Systems Management from The Ohio State University. While at Ohio State Nosa was an All American full-scholarship student-athlete in Track & Field. Among his accomplishments on the track, he claimed the Olympic B qualification and Big Ten Championship in the triple jump. The drive, discipline, and determination that Nosa honed on the field still act as the guiding principles for the way he conducts business. Nosa built Bowa Construction on the notion of civic engagement, believing that companies should do more than simply perform projects in a community.

  Bowa Construction

  President & CEO

  Nosa Ehimwenman

  President & CEO

  Bowa Construction

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  Craig Nadborne

  Craig joined Bradford Allen in 2007 as a Senior Managing Director and in 2014 he was elected to the Midwest Commercial Real Estate Hall of Fame. With over 35 successful years in the commercial real estate industry, Craig is a seasoned and highly motivate professional who provides a wealth of knowledge and experience servicing his clients. In his Tenant Rep capacity, Craig expertly assists his client base with renewals, relocations, expansions, and renegotiations of their office space leases. He specializes in helping the small to mid-size clients who traditionally don’t benefit from the quality service that major corporations receive. Another focus is on not-for-profit clients, including Lambda Legal Defense & Education Fund, Life Span, Heartland health Organization, Thresholds, and TPAN (Test Positive Aware Network). Others clients receiving long-term assistance include: MainStreet Advisors, where he has completed five transactions over 15 years, including relocations, expansions, and subleasing of excess space; and Ajinomoto Food Ingredients, who have worked with Craig for over 20 years as they have expanded, contracted, and then doubled in size at their O’Hare location. Overall, he has closed over 1,000 transactions, valued in excess of $350 million, and has represented clients in more than 3,000,000 square feet of leasing and sales transactions. As a Landlord Rep, most recently, Craig has been instrumental in repositioning and turning around properties such as 212 E. Ohio in Streeterville, 314 W. Institute Place and the Kinzie Design Center in River North, and the introduction of a renovated building, 2201 S. Halsted in Pilsen. Craig lives in Andersonville with his husband and their 13-year-old Shepard mix. He stays active by working out, weight training, and focusing on living a healthy lifestyle. Craig is an avid traveler, having visited five continents, and a devoted Chicago sports fan (as well as the University of Illinois, from which he graduated).

  Bradford Allen

  Senior Managing Director

  Craig Nadborne

  Senior Managing Director

  Bradford Allen

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  Kate Davis

  Kate Davis is Global Practice Director, Commercial Interiors, and a Partner at HKS. Based in Chicago, Kate is a student of her clients' businesses and believes that design can be a strategic business tool. She is a sought-after industry voice on topics ranging from design for creativity and the agile workplace to office building sustainability.

  HKS

  Global Practice Director & Partner

  Moderator

  Kate Davis

  Global Practice Director & Partner

  HKS

What a Tenant Wants: Analyzing the Importance of Design, Amenities, and Proptech

As the office landscape changes, tenant expectations are as well. Learn about the best in office amenities and design and set yourself apart!

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  Jessica Brown

  Jessica is responsible for office and retail leasing across Sterling Bay’s portfolio, including securing high-profile tenants in prominent Chicago projects such as 110 N Carpenter, Fulton West, 333 N Green, Prudential Plaza, 600 W Chicago, 330/360 N Green, 1200 W Carroll and all of Lincoln Yards. Jessica has served as an integral member of the team specializing in the overall asset redevelopment strategy, lease negotiation and retail placemaking of the company’s assets. Prior to joining Sterling Bay in 2015, Jessica worked at CBRE on the Urban Retail Team. Jessica earned a BBA from the University of Wisconsin - Madison and is an active member of ICSC (International Council of Shopping Centers) and WIRL (Women in Retail Leasing).

  Sterling Bay

  Principal

  Jessica Brown

  Principal

  Sterling Bay

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  Jackie Wilcox

  Jackie Wilcox has over a decade of experience leading and designing a wide range of project types, with a dedicated focus on creating high-performing interior environments. As Director of Interior Design, she is embedded in the design and building process from concept to completion, ensuring an overall vision is realized and omnipresent in every detail. Spanning her professional education to career practice, Jackie is fascinated by the effect interior space has on culture, occupant mood, and well-being. Driven by these curiosities, Jackie approaches each project with the intention of connecting people to their environment and each other.

  BKV Group

  Director of Interior Design

  Jackie Wilcox

  Director of Interior Design

  BKV Group

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  Sham Desai

  Head of Sales

  Industrious

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  Kali Cardoza

  VP, Head of Sales and Leasing

  WeWork

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  Lauren Torres

  Lauren is a key leader in Skender’s award-winning Interiors group, where she directs high-performing project teams to deliver innovative workspace solutions. She has played an integral role in the successful buildouts of prominent offices for renowned organizations, including Motorola Mobility, 1871, Google, Sprout Social, LinkedIn, PepsiCo, AbelsonTaylor and Mondelez. She holds a degree in Computer Graphic Technology from Purdue University.

  Skender

  Project Executive

  Lauren Torres

  Project Executive

  Skender

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  Joshua Love

  Joshua Love is the president and founder for Kinema Fitness. Joshua has two decades of fitness and wellness experience. He has helped lead Kinema Fitness to incredible growth through design, development and operations. His focus is on a total wellness approach that includes holistic, mindfulness, nutrition, and physical fitness.

  Kinema Fitness

  President and Founder

  Joshua Love

  President and Founder

  Kinema Fitness

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  Anastacia Anderson

  Current responsibilities Anastacia joined Flex at its inception in 2019, making her the 7th global employee to join the team. Her primary focus is to commercialize the flex industry by educating real estate professionals, landlords/investors, and enterprise clients about the value of flex. Anastacia has played an instrumental role in shaping JLL's vision and value of Flex today. She achieves this through establishing robust landlord partnerships that open new locations to meet the needs and demands of occupier tenants. Anastacia ensures that landlords can capitalize on incorporating flex into their assets while finding new ways to monetize them. Additionally, she collaborates with the Experience Management (XM) team to incorporate a hospitality approach to flex and eliminate redundancies across the asset to maximize revenue returns. Anastacia is heavily integrated across all JLL's platforms, including Capital Markets, Agency Leasing, Tenant Representation, Work Dynamics, and Property Management. Anastacia works closely with occupiers and enterprise clients to integrate Flex solutions into their workplace strategy, ensuring that Flex site occupancy is productive and successful for investors and landlords, while also meeting the needs of occupiers. Experience Before joining the Flex team at JLL, Anastacia Anderson was a part of the JLL Healthcare Practice Group, where she managed and grew Northwestern Medicine's real estate portfolio comprising 8 million square feet. She identified opportunities for growth by conducting employee zip code analysis, patient profiling, and site surveying. Prior to joining JLL, Anastacia worked as an Assistant Property Manager and Agency Leasing Broker for one of Wisconsin’s largest student housing companies, overseeing more than 200 units for over 650 residents. Education and affiliations Stasha attended the University of Wisconsin–Madison where she received a BBA double majoring in finance, investment and banking; and real estate and urban economics. She is an active participant in the Wisconsin Real Estate Alumni Association (WREAA).

  Flex by JLL

  Vice President of Investor Partnerships

  Moderator

  Anastacia Anderson

  Vice President of Investor Partnerships

  Flex by JLL

The Executive Outlook: How to Problem-Solve for Office

Between urban vs suburban site selection, potential for conversions, and working with top tenants, hear what experts are saying lies ahead for the office market

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  Andy Farbman

  CEO

  Farbman Group

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  Glenn Roby

  As CEO in collaboration with Al Krueger, Glenn directs the firm’s vision, strategic plan, operations, and cultivates Kahler Slater’s nationally recognized culture. Widely recognized for his deep understanding of the real estate process and ability to turn facility assets into business success through design, Glenn also serves as Team Leader of the firm’s Corporate, Hospitality, and Residential teams. His passion and leadership have been integral to the sustained growth of the firm’s portfolio and client list. Glenn has established a reputation for his commitment to design excellence, understanding of market dynamics, clear communication across multiple stakeholder groups, and skillful management of cross-functional teams. With industry insight, Glenn leads our teams to create authentic, efficient, and client-focused solutions deeply rooted in the unique culture, process, and community of each client. His passion for sustainability has ensured the integration of building performance strategies leading to wellness and sustainability certifications on numerous projects.

  Kahler Slater

  CEO

  Glenn Roby

  CEO

  Kahler Slater

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  Michael Fishman

  Michael T. Fishman is Vice Chairman of Greenberg Traurig’s Chicago office. Michael focuses his practice on real estate, real estate finance, private equity and real estate fund formation. His clients include institutional investors, investment advisors, public and private real estate companies, REITs and financial institutions. Michael has worked to form domestic and cross-border real estate funds and joint ventures, and regularly represents lenders on real estate projects throughout the United States and globally. In addition, he has experience with mezzanine finance, mortgage finance, lease finance and loan defeasance transactions. Michael regularly advises clients with regard to the acquisition, disposition, leasing and management of multi-family, industrial, office, retail and hotel properties in the United States and globally.

  Greenberg Traurig

  Vice Chairman Chicago

  Michael Fishman

  Vice Chairman Chicago

  Greenberg Traurig

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  Kenneth Wille

  Mr. Kenneth F. Wille, CEO: Professional Engineer licensed in multiple states and based in NY, Building Performance Analyst, LEED AP, Certified Energy Manager, and Green Building Engineer with the Association of Energy Engineers. Mr. Wille was involved in developing HUD Green Mark to Market requirements and qualifications following participation in HUD Green Retrofit Program. A seasoned construction consultant with over 5,000 construction loan monitoring inspections, 1,000+ Property Needs Assessments and 100+ energy audits under his utility belt. Mr. Wille has been numerous boards, podcasts and panels and is a published author with an educational building inspection series available on the KOW YouTube channel.

  KOW Building Consultants

  President and CEO

  Moderator

  Kenneth Wille

  President and CEO

  KOW Building Consultants