Saved by the "Dwell" : Converting Obsolete Buildings into Desirable Living Spaces

How Chicago's Top Developers are Repurposing Outmoded Structures

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  Brian Goldberg

  Brian is the founder and CEO of LG Group and has spent the last 17 years developing over $2 billion in high-end residential and commercial projects. His expertise has grown to include a multitude of project types over several different asset classes, consistently focusing on high design and cutting-edge technology. His relentless pursuit of the highest level of quality and service has led LG to become a top tier, vertically integrated platform that today includes development, construction, asset management, leasing, and interior design. Brian is most proud of LG’s work with several local hiring programs in the community to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion. Brian is also involved in several local charities benefiting Chicago’s disadvantaged youth (Camp Out for Kids), homeless (Back on My Feet) veterans (Herban Produce), and various mental health (Pariah Foundation & Tourette Association of America) as well as the YWCA and JUF. Brian graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign with a Bachelor’s and Master’s of Science in General Engineering, as well as an MBA. Brian lives in Lincoln Park with his beloved wife of 14 years, two incredible daughters, and two mischievous dogs. In his spare time, Brian loves to stay active with golf, tennis, and fishing.

  LG Group

  Founder and CEO

  The Ronsley redevelopment, River North

  Brian Goldberg

  Founder and CEO

  LG Group

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  Joseph Slezak

  With nearly two decades of experience in all facets of the real estate investment process, including acquisition, financing, construction management, property management and disposition, Joe guides the short- and long-term vision of 3L as founder and CEO. He oversees operations of all of 3L’s properties and leads business development. In his career, which has spanned 100 properties and 6,000 units in the Midwest region, Joe has played a critical role in more than $500 million in acquisitions, another $500 million in renovations, and $2 billion in financing. Prior to founding 3L, Joe rose through from intern to partner at BJB Partners, where he was central to the design and implementation of efficient-footprint and adaptive-reuse strategies. At BJB, Joe played a central role in designing and implementing the efficient footprint and adaptive re-use strategies he continues to innovate at 3L.

  3L Real Estate

  CEO

  5401 S Cornell Ave, Former Catholic Theological Union headquarters

  Joseph Slezak

  CEO

  3L Real Estate

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  Eric Weber

  Eric has spent his entire life in Illinois, growing up in the Northwest Suburbs of Chicago and eventually attending the University of Illinois where he earned his Bachelor and Master of Accountancy degrees and followed that by obtaining his CPA accreditation. After a 10-year run in Corporate America at Pricewaterhouse Coopers, LLP and FTI Consulting where he specialized in audit and financial restructuring, respectively, he decided to pursue his long time passion for real estate. Over his time in Corporate America, Eric developed a vast network of real estate owners and developers looking for opportunities in the multifamily sector and reliable service providers to operate their properties. With demand for investment real estate abound coming out of the Great Recession and a clear void in the market for reputable service providers, he abandoned the corporate world in 2012 and set out to help build the fully integrated real estate services firm that is now 33 & Cubed. In addition to his executive level responsibilities, Eric leads business development and marketing initiatives, as well as focuses on new market entries and strategic JV’s with 33 & Cubed clients. He also spearheads the Companies’ real estate investment training platform, “33 University”, which teaches 33 & Cubed team members how to become real estate investors. Outside of work, Eric devotes his time to coaching his three kids in soccer, baseball and softball. He spends too much time supporting the Cubs and not enough time figuring out golf. A mission close to the heart of his entire family, he is on the board of the Epilepsy Foundation of Chicago, which serves to find a cure for epilepsy. He is also a licensed broker in Illinois. Eric attended all 3 losses in the 2016 World Series.

  Cubed Construction

  Principal

  Eric Weber

  Principal

  Cubed Construction

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  Patrick Carata

  Mr. Carata joined Epstein in 2018, and has over 20 years of design experience. As Epstein’s Design Director, he is responsible for establishing and managing the design and delivery of a multitude of project types and scales, including hotels, retail, higher education, office, residential and mixed use high-rise developments. Patrick works closely with clients to understand their objectives and strives for functional, yet unique, architectural solutions of the highest quality and design that exceed client goals. Some of Patrick’s current projects include a hotel & residential development in Owensboro, Kentucky, a new corporate & mixed- use campus in Romania as well as a new performance center in Bainbridge Island, Washington.

  Epstein

  Design Director

  Patrick Carata

  Design Director

  Epstein

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  Autumn Harris

  Autumn Harris is the marketing manager at PREMIER Design + Build Group, a national design + construction firm headquartered in Chicago with an established presence in the Northeast industrial and logistics market. PREMIER was founded on the concept that your contractor should be your partner and your advocate throughout the design and build process. From simple office TIs to large-scale business parks, each PREMIER project benefits from the company's strong client focus and concept-to-completion success strategy. Autumn leads PREMIER's national marketing team's vision, employing people-first tactics to match clients with extraordinary opportunities. She leads her team members with boldness and heart while encouraging personal growth and cultural exploration. She has served as a volunteer for various industry organizations, such as SMPS Chicago, WTS Chicago - Transportation YOU, and ACEC-Illinois. She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts from Columbia College Chicago and enjoys painting watercolor, inking comics and collecting vinyl.

  PREMIER Design + Build Group

  Marketing Manager

  Moderator

  Autumn Harris

  Marketing Manager

  PREMIER Design + Build Group

Adventurous Adaptation

Spotlight on Unexpected and Creative Building Transformations

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  David Baum

  David Baum is a leading figure in Chicago’s real estate development and brokerage communities. Since co-founding Baum Development, LLC (now Baum Revision) in 1989 and Baum Realty Group, Inc. in 1991, David has cultivated one business from a start-up company into an award-winning commercial and residential development firm and the other into Chicago’s leading boutique brokerage firm. David is often a featured speaker for real estate and business groups, Universities and forums and was named one of Crain’s Chicago Business’ “40 Under 40”. David is a contributor to Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago’s Beige Book and is a member of ICSC, The Economic Club of Chicago and the U.S. Green Business Council.

  Baum Revision

  Principal

  Ramova Theater redevelopment

  David Baum

  Principal

  Baum Revision

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  Michael McLean Jr.

  Michael is a Partner at Condor Partners, LLC. He is responsible for overseeing all of the firm’s Real Estate development activity. Prior to joining Condor, Michael was a Development Partner at Centrum Partners LLC in Chicago. He was responsible for sourcing and developing “out of the box” and institutional level projects for Centrum. He developed over $200 million of real estate for the firm, including Hospitality, Industrial, Flex Office, and Residential. Prior to joining Centrum in early 2007, Michael founded and ran his family real estate development company in New York from 2000-2007. McLean Development, LLC focused on suburban master planned communities entitling over 2,000 residential units and 500,000sf of commercial space on Long Island and Rochester, NY. From 1998-2000 Michael and his brother Sean McLean founded and ran one of the first firms focused on Hospitality in Healthcare, helping hospitals convert vacant space to hotel and special service wards. Michael holds a Master’s of Science from New York University with a focus on International Development and Finance and a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from Princeton University.

  Condor Partners

  Partner

  Mural Park, Pilsen

  Michael McLean Jr.

  Partner

  Condor Partners

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  Ramzi Hassan

  Ramzi Hassan is the President of Edwards Realty Company, a leading Commercial Development and Property Management firm based in Orland Park, IL. Hassan has completed over $250M in retail and mixed-use projects since 2003, finding significant opportunity and upside in distressed assets. Hassan’s keen sense of how community drives commerce, combined with his involvement in the music and fashion industry have helped inform his real estate strategy. Edwards Realty Company owns and manages more than one million square feet of commercial real estate property in the midwest. The firm is actively investing in new mixed-use properties in key growth markets. Hassan earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Finance with a concentration in Real Estate from DePaul University. He is an active member of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) and President-Elect of the Orland Park Area Chamber of Commerce and a Member of the Economic Development Committee (EDC) in the Village of Burr Ridge. Ramzi holds his managing broker license in Illinois, Missouri and Michigan.

  Edwards Realty Company

  President

  Orland Park's Main Street Triangle District Proposal

  Ramzi Hassan

  President

  Edwards Realty Company

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  Sheilah Carroll

  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.

  Knickpoint Ventures

  Creative Director

  The Fields

  Sheilah Carroll

  Creative Director

  Knickpoint Ventures

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  Katie Lambert

  As OKW’s Design Director, Katie touches nearly every project in our office. She has become a partner and a proven leader at our firm thanks to her design acumen and knack for clearly explaining her ideas to clients and colleagues alike. With a firm belief that the best designs grow inherently from the project’s context – program, client, and site – Katie approaches each new challenge as a deep, holistic investigation. This process has led her to finish rewarding projects in corporate interiors, hospitality, retail, mixed-use, and in the non-profit world. In such recent projects as the redevelopment of Harlem Irving Plaza, reimagining an office for Great Lakes Coca-Cola, and reinventing the façade and building program at 932 W Randolph, Katie brought a brand of non-traditional thinking that led to these projects becoming compelling and imaginative examples of adaptive reuse. Her ability to see the potential in a space beyond its current use has made her an invaluable member of our leadership team. Outside the office, when Katie isn’t helping her two daughters through grade school, she’s going on strolls through her home neighborhood of Logan Square and enjoying her love of cooking.

  OKW Architects

  Partner and Design Director

  Katie Lambert

  Partner and Design Director

  OKW Architects

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  Patrick Clay

  Patrick Clay is a Director of Business Development for ARCO/Murray, a Top 3 U.S. Design-Builder. ARCO/Murray recently partnered with By the Hand Club for Kids, Jason Heyward, the Chicago Fire Foundation and more to complete the North Austin Center – a $35M sports, education, and wellness facility servicing 400 Chicago Public School students with after-school programming in the city’s Austin neighborhood. ARCO was also the design-builder for 3x ‘Chicago Redevelopment of the Year’ winner the Terminal, a 250,000 SF conversion of an historic light manufacturing plant into an urban office and life sciences workspace. Currently, ARCO is building a dynamic, Class A 15-story mixed use building in the heart of River North. Patrick is active in many of these key segments including mixed use, office, entertainment/hospitality, automotive and industrial. He's previously spoken on panels highlighting the Chicago industrial market, suburban commercial growth, and local adaptive reuse trends. Prior to ARCO, Patrick spent 13 years as an Architect and Project Manager with Partners by Design and SOM. He has a Bachelor’s degree in Architecture from Virginia Tech University. Patrick lives on the city’s north side with his wife and two boys.

  ARCO/Murray

  Director

  Patrick Clay

  Director

  ARCO/Murray

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  Jeff Cohen

  Jeff started his real estate career in 2007 in Chicago, where he currently lives and works 15 years later. Over the past decade Jeff focused on capital advisory, debt and equity placements, buy side advisory/owner’s representation, and investment sales on behalf of sponsors. Jeff has participated in and successfully executed leasing transactions totaling over 3.75 MSF, $1.5B of property sales, and approximately $1B of debt and equity placements, across office, industrial, retail, and multifamily asset classes. In addition, Jeff is experienced in advising developers and arranging financing for ground up developments, medical office, data centers, and complex adaptive re-use/redevelopments of historical assets. Prior to joining Crowdstreet, Jeff spent the first 13 years of his career at Cushman & Wakefield and has represented tenants and landlords in leasing transactions, sold assets for private and institutional owners, and provided portfolio and transaction management services for both small and large corporate entities. Jeff has advised clients on several high profile assets in Chicago, including the Old Post Office, The Wrigley Building, multifamily developments, corporate occupiers/users, as well as federal and local government and quasi-government entities, including the City of Chicago and Amtrak. Mr. Cohen graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a B.A. in Communication Arts and a B.A. in Political Science. He is an active member of the Urban Land Institute (ULI), the University of Wisconsin Real Estate Alumni Association Chicago chapter, National Multifamily Housing Council and Mortgage Bankers Association. He is an active member of the Harold E. Eisenberg Foundation, serving in the past as the Associate Board’s Treasurer, and was the co-chair for EISENOPOLY for 5 years, raising over $500,000 for gastrointestinal cancer research and real estate education. He is an avid traveler and currently the proud dog dad to his sheepadoodle, Daisy.

  CrowdStreet

  Managing Director

  Moderator

  Jeff Cohen

  Managing Director

  CrowdStreet

Navigating Regulation and Landmark Status for Historic Adaptive Reuse

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  Eleanor Gorski

  After progressing in a series of leadership roles in City government, Eleanor Esser Gorski was appointed Executive Director of the Cook County Land Bank Authority (CCLBA) in August 2020. Gorski brings more than 25 years of planning, design and economic development experience to the CCLBA as it embarks on plans to expand its inventory to create more affordable housing and economic opportunity partnerships within Cook County. The Cook County Land Bank works to efficiently return vacant properties to productive use in underserved communities throughout the county by partnering with community developers, small business owners and prospective homebuyers. It is the largest land bank by geography in the country, with a current inventory of more than 1,700 properties. Before leading the CCLBA, Gorski served as Director of Design and Planning for the University of Illinois at Chicago. From 2019 to 2020, Gorski led the City of Chicago Department of Planning and Development (DPD) as First Deputy Commissioner and Acting Commissioner. Prior to this role, Gorski led the Bureau of Planning and Design for DPD, leading work on the City’s Industrial Corridor Modernization Initiative and the Fulton Market Innovation District Plan, creating the fastest-growing commercial sector in the city. Gorski has held many other leadership roles within the City, including director of the Landmarks Commission for five years. Projects she has managed include the five-year renovation of Wrigley Field, the planning for the Obama Presidential Center, the renovation of most of the early skyscrapers in the Loop as well as the preservation of the Carson Pirie Scott State Street store (now Target). A hallmark of Gorski’s work is the way it centers equity and community, integrating design, planning and historic preservation. Notable projects include the creation of a community review process for the Chicago Plan Commission and numerous design guidelines for city landmark districts and neighborhoods. Her work in financial incentive legislation provided groundbreaking assistance for small businesses in communities of need through the Neighborhood Opportunity Fund and helped to preserve landmarks with the Class L tax incentive. Gorski is a licensed architect with degrees in architecture, art history and history. She is a fellow of the American Academy of Rome, where she studied the integration of new construction and old in Rome, Berlin and Amsterdam. She is also a fellow of the University of Chicago Civic Leadership Academy. Gorski sits on the Local Advisory Board of LISC Chicago, the alumni board of the University of Illinois School of Architecture and the Board of the Illinois Medical District. Most important, she is a proud mom to two teenage boys and lives in the City of Chicago.

  Cook County Land Bank Authority

  Executive Director

  Moderator

  Eleanor Gorski

  Executive Director

  Cook County Land Bank Authority

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  Bonnie McDonald

  Bonnie McDonald aspires to shape preservation into a more relevant and just practice. As President and CEO of Landmarks Illinois (LI), Bonnie advances the vision, mission, and programs of Illinois' only statewide preservation nonprofit organization. Her transformative thinking about preservation has led LI to focus its work on people and their important connection to historic places. She’s currently spearheading the organization’s evolution at its 50-year anniversary to enhance its relevance and to create a national model for justice, equity, inclusion and diversity in preservation practice. Bonnie is a collaborative leader and together with her board, team and volunteers, they’ve nearly doubled LI’s staff, opened its first regional office, passed vital state legislation, and played a visible role as thought leaders during her nine years as president. From 2018-2021, Bonnie served as board chair of the National Preservation Partners Network, the national nonprofit representing preservation organizations, and she is proud to have been awarded the James Marston Fitch Charitable Foundation Mid-Career Fellowship in 2020 to write a guidebook to relevancy in the preservation movement. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot appointed Bonnie co-chair of the Chicago Monuments Project in 2020 to help lead a truth and racial reckoning process in the city around problematic artworks. Bonnie received a Bachelor’s Degree in Art History (Summa Cum Laude) from the University of Minnesota and a Master’s Degree in Historic Preservation Planning from Cornell University.

  Landmarks Illinois

  President & CEO

  Bonnie McDonald

  President & CEO

  Landmarks Illinois

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  Tim Frens

  As a leader in the firm’s housing and community development solutions group, I provide tax, audit, and consulting services to privately held real estate development, investment, and construction companies. I specialize in financial projections, deal structuring, and tax incentives, such as historic tax credits, new markets tax credits, opportunity zones, and other state and federal tax credits. While I’ve accumulated a wealth of knowledge in this area to share with clients, I also hope they appreciate that I’m going to approach all discussions from a positive view point. I’m extremely proud of the role I’ve played in building our housing and community development solutions group into a practice area that has helped our clients secure more than $1 billion in tax credits. With more than 20 years of experience, I’m a frequent speaker on the topic of tax credits, and I’ve published numerous articles on these types of incentives. I’m on the board of Landmarks Illinois: People Saving Historic Places and the board of Chicago Neighborhood Initiatives, a mission-based developer and CDE on Chicago’s south side. I have a B.S. in accounting from Calvin University and an M.B.A. from Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management. Outside of work, I enjoy spending time with my children. I also like golfing, biking, and being outdoors.

  Plante Moran

  Partner

  Tim Frens

  Partner

  Plante Moran

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  Chad Huber

  Chad Huber serves as Vice President of Preconstruction for W.E. O’Neil’s Chicago region and has more than 27 years of construction industry experience. His deep understanding of preconstruction operations and extensive expertise in adaptive reuse hospitality projects have made him a key leader in the industry. Chad has provided executive oversight for some of W.E. O'Neil's most complicated projects, including the transformation of the historic Continental and Commercial National Bank Building (Daniel Burnham, 1914) at 208 S. LaSalle into a luxury 234-key hotel and the redevelopment of the Roanoke Building (Holabird & Roche, 1915) at 11 S. LaSalle into a 382-key hotel.

  W.E. O’Neil Construction

  Vice President of Preconstruction

  Chad Huber

  Vice President of Preconstruction

  W.E. O’Neil Construction