Each year, Midwest Real Estate News inducts a new class into its Midwest Commercial Real Estate Hall of Fame. We are also running these profiles online. Today, we look at the busy career of Perry Higa, senior vice president with NAI Hiffman in the Chicago suburb of Oakbrook Terrace.
Since starting in the commercial real estate business in 1984, Perry Higa, senior vice president with NAI HIffman, has helped hundreds of companies secure millions of square feet of office, industrial, retail and land. As a commercial real estate advisor, his willingness to go far beyond the expected have made him a favorite of companies from startups to Fortune 500s.
“I started in a rough commercial real estate economy back in 1984 and survived four major down real estate markets over my career,” said Higa. “It was difficult to deal with clients downsizing, letting their employees go or going out of business. Each down market created opportunities, but I prefer the benefits of a robust real estate market.”
Higa began his career as a researcher with Coldwell Banker Commercial (now CBRE), where he spent 29 years focused primarily on securing office space for companies across the country, including McDonald’s. More than four years ago, Higa joined NAI Hiffman, the largest independent real estate services firm in the Midwest, as a senior vice president within the company’s office services division. Higa employs a strategic planning approach toward real estate service delivery for his clients.
“I love to understand the unique aspects of my clients’ businesses and their specific goals,” Higa said. “Also, I like to work with my clients to create a strategy that aligns with their real estate goals and executing a successful transaction on their behalf. I love the entrepreneurial nature of commercial real estate.”
Higa has been named a top producer each year and recently represented buyer John Paul DeJoria and his company, JP Nevada, in the $40 million sale of McDonald’s iconic 80-acre campus in Oak Brook, Illinois, one of the Chicago area’s highest-profile transactions of 2019 and a recipient of the prestigious NAIOP Transaction of the Year award for 2019 in metro Chicago.
