Each year, Midwest Real Estate News inducts a new class into its Commercial Real Estate Hall of Fame. Here is a look at the busy career of one of our newest members, Quintin E. Primo III, chairman and chief executive officer of Capri Investment Group in Chicago.
Active in the real estate industry for more than four decades, Quintin Primo has never been afraid to challenge conventional wisdom. Under his leadership, his firm, Capri Investment Group, became an early investor in both U.S. multifamily and urban property markets, successfully investing more than $14 billion since the company’s founding.
Capri Investment Group has also pursued developments in India, Africa and the Middle East. In these programs, Primo’s goal has been to achieve attractive risk-adjusted returns for the firm’s investors while enhancing those communities in which Capri invests.
Primo credits much of his success in commercial real estate to the mentoring he’s received from what he calls some of the industry’s giants.
But he also points to his commitment to diversity as a reason for Capri’s success.
“Equally important to my success has been my commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion,” Primo said. “I’ve tirelessly embraced those qualities in my own organization and championed these principles in the industry. I believe actively engaging with those who are different from us offers a greater set of opportunities, more creative solutions to problems and an increased likelihood of lasting success, whether you’re an investor, advisor, manager, contractor or in any other role in the sector.”
The problem? Primo says that the participation of Black and Brown professionals in the commercial real estate industry, and the assets they correspondingly own, manage, or control, is still disturbingly low.
“I believe this hurts the industry,” Primo said. “We are not performing at our true potential.”
Primo has done his part to help change this. In addition to his business work, Primo has long been active in civic and non-profit initiatives. He is a founder and currently co-chairman of the Primo Center for Women and Children, a transitional center and family institute for the homeless. He was also the founding chairman of the Chicago Alliance to End Homelessness and is a board member of the Chicago Council of Global Affairs, School of the Art Institute and Church Investment Group.
Primo has also previously served as trustee of the Chicago Community Trust, University of Chicago Hospitals and the Church Pension Group.
It’s not surprising that during his long career, many have sought out Primo’s advice and thoughts on the economy and commercial real estate. This industry veteran has been featured in national publications such as the Wall Street Journal, Fortune Magazine, Forbes, The New York Times, Bloomberg Business Week and Black Enterprise. He has also been a business contributor to the CNBC cable news network.
Primo has also written or co-authored several stories and industry white papers. He received an honorary doctorate from Sewanee: The University of the South.
“CRE is a challenging industry because it requires so many different skills, creativity, vision, critical thinking, team building, financial acumen and more,” Primo said. “And it requires you to be a lifelong learner, which I enjoy because it keeps you sharp and engaged. But the process of creation provides me the greatest satisfaction. Ground-up development and redevelopment often allows you to impact the trajectory of communities and even entire cities, which can be life-changing for those that live or work in these places and engaging, fulfilling and rewarding for those of us in CRE. “
This doesn’t mean that Primo has only encountered success during his career. His first entrepreneurial pursuit in real estate in 1988 failed because of poor marketing and under-capitalization.
This didn’t deter Primo. Instead, it inspired him, and Capri Investment Group is still going strong today.
“But having opportunity as a person of color has always been challenging,” Primo said. “When I started in CRE, it was an ‘old boy’s’ network. Women and minorities were often not invited to the table or club or event where you make connections, form relationships, get information and strike deals. Fortunately, that’s changing today. My relationships were directly responsible for a recent transaction my partners and I closed with Google to redevelop the State of Illinois building.”
When he’s not working, Primo enjoys spending time with his family, on-road and off-road cycling, reading and following emerging black artists.
