Each year, Midwest Real Estate News elects a new class to its Commercial Real Estate Hall of Fame. Here’s a look at one of our new inductees, Patrick Touhy, senior vice president of Marquette Bank in Chicago.
More than four decades. That’s how long Patrick Touhy, senior vice president with Chicago’s Marquette Bank, has spent in the commercial real estate industry.
And during this long career? Touhy has developed a reputation for meeting the needs of his clients and providing them with the best possible service. It’s how Touhy has built such a strong network of repeat clients.
As anyone who has worked in commercial real estate knows — and especially someone who has logged more than 40 years in the business — the industry is constantly changing. And for Touhy, adapting to this change, and evolving with it, has represented both a challenge and an opportunity throughout his career.
“During the past 40 years, the biggest challenge has been making the right moves as the business kept changing,” Touhy said.
Touhy is a prime example of this approach. He began his career in commercial real estate in 1982 with Merrill Lynch, raising capital for multifamily limited partnerships. He later spent time as an investment banker for Prudential Capital Funding.
It was 14 years ago, when Touhy made another big move during his career. While working with Washington Mutual, Touhy saw that this financial institution was soon going to disappear. He then began his career with Marquette Bank, where his business is still thriving today.
“I proposed that given the right resources and a commitment to compete we could lead the market with what owner-operators and investors of multifamily properties where demanding,” Touhy said. “Over time, Marquette Bank did just that.”
Today, with a portfolio of more than $1 billion in assets, Touhy attributes his success to having the best team of professionals who support him each day.
And when people ask him when he plans to retire? He has a simple answer: “Retire? Are you kidding me? I am just getting warmed up!”
As Touhy says, he enjoys his work too much to leave it behind.
“This is not a job, but my purpose and passion in life,” Touhy said. “I get up every day and do whatever it takes to help my clients achieve their goals.”
And on those rare moments in which Touhy is not working? He enjoys riding his bicycle and going for a swim.
