It didn’t take Amy Hall long to realize she wanted to pursue commercial real estate. After all, retail is a personal passion of hers and she loves to negotiate.
“I started my commercial real estate career in land development and loved watching projects come out of the ground and go from nothing to become something tangible,” said Hall, who recently joined LM Commercial Real Estate to lead the expansion of the firm’s brokerage division in the Chicago area.
Growing up in the industry, her role evolved into training and development, allowing her to help others move toward their goals and succeed in the industry.
Now, Hall is responsible for the overall growth, profitability, and training and development of the brokerage arm of LM Commercial Real Estate.
“I was brought in to oversee a significant expansion of the firm’s brokerage division across the Chicago metropolitan area,” she said. “I’m overseeing the recruitment of new brokers in the office, retail and industrial sectors, as well as training, performance management and strategic planning for the company.”
One of her most memorable experiences in the field, she recalls, is being a part of the ground-up development staff that worked on Jordan Creek Town Center in West Des Moines, Iowa for General Growth Properties. The project included a regional enclosed shopping center consisting of a restaurant district and open air retail component that was well received by the community.
“It opened very well leased and brought that next level of retail to the Des Moines market,” she added.
But what most people probably don’t know about Hall is that outside of work she’s a voracious reader who loves to travel abroad with her family, and volunteer with philanthropic organizations involved in women’s education, among others. And she even finds ways to mix the two — one of the organizations is a school in Tanzania.
“It has been an honor to help them raise funds over the last seven years,” Hall explained. “It’s also been so rewarding to watch the students flourish into some of the brightest future leaders of that village.”
And when Hall isn’t helping out abroad, she’s visiting a new city. Corniglia, a city in Northern Italy, is Hall’s personal favorite as it’s one of the five coastal villages that make up the chain known as, “Cinque Terre.”
“It’s charming beyond words,” Hall said. She hopes to one day cross “a cruise around the world” off of her bucket list. And if given the chance, she would love to meet Condoleezza Rice, who Hall defines as a woman of tremendous character that has risen through the ranks with professionalism and determination.
“I think I would enjoy having a conversation with her,” she admits.
And that’s not all that Hall disclosed. Who knew that she grew up on a dairy farm in rural Missouri, milking cows and hauling hay as her first professional endeavor?
“I learned so much just watching my dad build or fix anything around the farm,” she noted. “His tremendous work ethic and the work ethic he instilled in us was incredibly valuable.”
That dedication is what has pushed Hall so far in her career. She completed a Master’s degree while working in a full-time leadership role, a moment she calls the most challenging and rewarding accomplishment outside of the industry.
How does she do it? She’s a true believer in advice. And the best one she’s received is to every day strive to be kinder and better than you were the day before.
