During the evening of Thursday, July 22, over 400 real estate professionals from across the Chicagoland metro region convened at the Hyatt Regency O’Hare to attend the 2nd annual Illinois Real Estate Journal Awards event. And there was certainly cause for celebration after nearly a year and a half since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic which took its grip over the global economy, allowing for many of the event’s participants to reconnect in person for the first time in many months.
For this year’s awards, there were 34 categories, with several sub-categories ranging from everything from notable deals, innovative design and even COVID-related accolades. While the commercial real estate market did witness setbacks during the pandemic, the economy is quickly recovering and optimism is high for the remainder of the year.
We would like to thank all of the businesses and professionals who submitted nominations to this year’s award and also extend a sincere congratulations to all of the winners. Until next year’s awards take place, please be sure to keep an eye on the various panel events and mixers scheduled throughout the rest of the year on our site to stay in touch with other industry professionals and keep up with the latest trends and news.
Photos from the evening’s awards can be found here. And finally, if you’re not already, please follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn to engage with us and share your company’s news.
Below is the complete list of the 2021 Illinois Real Estate Journal Award Winners:
Property and Project Awards
Affordable Housing:
KLEO Art Residences
Pullman Artspace Lofts (Winner)
Multifamily:
Albion Evanston
Aspire Residences
Logan Apartments
Porte (Winner)
Wolf Point East
Multifamily and Mixed-use Redevelopment:
Bell Works Chicagoland
Pullman Artspace Lofts (Winner)
Sawmill Station
The Duncan FLATS
Industrial, Manufacturing and Science:
Oracle Innovation Industries Lab (Winner)
SRS Center for Taste Innovation
Industrial (Multi-tenant):
Bridge Point Itasca (Winner)
Industrial (Distribution):
3501 Brandon Road, Joliet
Chariot Logistics Center
Northwest Commerce Center
Pullman Crossings Phase II (Winner)
Route 60 Logistics Center
EXTRA Lease in Joliet
Yamazen headquarters
Office Project:
555 W. Monroe
Fulton East, 215 N. Peoria (Winner)
One South Wacker
SOS Children’s Village
Office Redevelopment:
24 E. Washington (Winner)
306 W. Erie
BlueCross BlueShield of Illinois Morgan Park Solutions Center
One South Wacker
Interior Design (Multi-tenant Office):
110 N. Wacker amenity spaces
1340 S. Damen
Old Post Office Marketing Suite 2E (Winner)
One South Wacker
Interior Design (Office Headquarters):
CDW
Equity Residential
Komatsu
Mondelez International HQ (Winner)
Remedy Chicago
VSA Partners
Interior Design (Co-working Space):
CommonGrounds (Winner)
Medical Properties:
Esperanza Health Center (Winner)
Medical Redevelopment:
MetroSouth COVID-19 Alternate Care Facility (Winner)
Quincy Town Center, Quincy Medical Group adaptive reuse
Retail and Restaurant COVID Retrofit:
Harlem Irving Plaza (Winner)
Make Way for Dining
Education Redevelopment:
33 E. Washington, School of the Art Institute redevelopment (Winner)
Corporate and City Awards
City/Municipality of the Year:
Elk Grove Village
Village of Downers Grove
Village of Hoffman Estates (Winner)
Village of Romeoville
Best COVID Plan, Development and Construction:
ACCEND Construction
Clayco (Winner)
Lendlease
Redmond
Riverside Investment & Development
Best COVID Plan, Property Services:
Bee Line Support (Winner)
Baird & Warner
Eastlake Studio
Luxury Living Chicago
Best Technology Pivot:
BEAR Construction Company
Parkside Realty (Winner)
SITE Technologies
SVN Chicago Commercial
Developer of the Year:
Bridge Industrial
CenterPoint Properties
Riverside Investment & Development (Winner)
Vequity
Architecture Firm of the Year:
JGMA (Winner)
Engineering Firm of the Year:
CAGE Engineering
GEI Consultants
Kimley-Horn (Winner)
General Contractor of the Year:
BEAR Construction
McShane
Meridian Design Build
Mortenson
Peak Construction
Pepper Construction Company (Winner)
PREMIER
Ryan Companies
Skender
Individual Awards
2020 Broker Pivot of the Year:
Joe Learner, Savills
Loren Connell, Baird & Warner
Paul Cawthon & Angelo Labriola, SVN (Winner)
2020 Superstar:
Andrew MacGregor, Accend
Beverly Hayes, SVN
Chrissy Jensen, Zeller
Kimberlee Carr, TAWANI
William “Bill” Himmelstein, Tenant Advisory Group (Winner)
Executive of the Year:
Aaron Galvin, Luxury Living Chicago
John Redmond, Redmond
Laura Ellis, Baird & Warner
Michelle Mills Clement, Chicago Association of Realtors
Nate Thompson, Baird & Warner
Sam Zeller, Zeller (Winner)
Architect of the Year:
Juan Gabriel Moreno, JGMA (Winner)
Property Manager of the Year:
Beth Argaman, Bozzuto
Bradley Borowiec, Zeller (Winner)
Traci Haskell, WPD Management
Broker of the Year:
Aaron Sklar, Kiser Group
Brian Kling, Colliers Chicago
Jeff Baasch, SVN
Noah Birk, Kiser Group
Yolanda Jefferies, Baird & Warner
Real Estate Lawyer of the Year:
David Arnburg, Gould + Ratner
Eric Greenfield, Polsinelli (Winner)
Howard Jeruchimowitz, Greenburg Traurig
Jessica Lingertat, Gould + Ratner
Joseph Q. McCoy Riley, Safer Holmes & Cancila
Kate Duncan, Akerman
Kathryn Kovitz Arnold, Taft
Ronald A. Damashek, Dickerson Wright
Emerging Leader of the Year:
Aaron Sklar, Kiser Group
Chris Payne, Riverside Investment & Development
Kurt Bender, Bender Companies
Lindsey Tellford, Zeller
Liz Butler, Elrod Friedman (Winner)
Maggie Easley, RLE Partners
Noah Birk, Kiser Group
Woman of the Year:
Colleen Werner, Lulafit
Jamie Henry, Bee Line Support
Jamie Redmond, Redmond
Janelle Moody, RLE Partners
Lori Olson, Zeller
Molly McShane, McShane Companies
Transaction Awards
Most Significant Investment Sale Transaction:
Altorfer, Inc. Relocation
Takeda Pharmaceuticals Sale (Winner)
Vesta Lofts
Most Significant Lease Transaction:
Village of Romeoville, Wayfair facility (Winner)
Goldberg Kohn Transaction
Reyes Holdings Lease
Lifetime Achievement Award
Joel Carlins, Magellan Development Group
