Out of college, Scott Duerkop began a career path in manufacturing equipment sales, and for a time was relocated to the Detroit area. Upon moving back to the Chicago area, he began exploring career opportunities that focused on services rather than products. After only a few interviews, Duerkop became set on a path for a career in real estate services.
“I’ve always found this industry to be incredibly rewarding, largely because of the fantastic client base I’ve built during my career,” Duerkop said, vice president of industrial services at JLL. “The personal relationships I’ve formed with a diverse group of individuals are truly incredible.”
His relationship’s formed at JLL certainly mean very much to him as well, as Duerkop noted he is very fortunate, and proud, to be a part of JLL’s industrial group.
“I came here by way of JLL’s acquisition of The Staubach Company,” he said. “Our clients are impressed by the incredible breadth of client services JLL offers. Very few firms can provide the level of brokerage, management, design, engineering and consulting insight that JLL does. Essentially non-existent seven years ago, we have grown to become one of the top industrial brokerage firms in the Chicago market. Our marketing and client support efforts are second to none.”
For the past 10 years, Duerkop has been involved at the board level with the Association of Industrial real Estate Brokers (AIRE). With the New Year underway, he’s stepping into a new role.
“This year I have the honor of being President of the Association working with dynamic individuals on the board this year,” he said. “We have all resolved to continue to make improvements to the functions and programs offered by AIRE this year.”
2014 was certainly a good year for Chicago’s industrial market, and Duerkop says 2015 will only be better.
“I know many brokers who had the best year of their careers in 2014, a welcome change from a few years back when a lot of us were worried about the state of the economy and subsequent recovery,” he said. “As the economy continues to improve, Chicago, which for some time has lagged behind many of the major US markets, will see industrial growth as developers work to offset dwindling industrial supply. 2015 will be even stronger than 2014.”
Lately, Duerkop’s job has been keeping him pretty busy, but it doesn’t keep him away from the most important things! “I love spending time with my two young daughters. I live in the city near the lake so we enjoy spending time on the Lakefront Path, playing at Millennium Park, and the new Maggie Daley Park. We recently attended a Chicago Bulls game together for the first time. They loved it!”
Between work and spending time with his family, Duerkop also balances his time by remaining active. “At times, a career in real estate can be somewhat stressful and I’ve found that staying active is a terrific release. I am an avid swimmer and cyclist.”
One thing Duerkop would like to do in his lifetime? “I am not very well travelled outside the United States,” he said. “Someday, when time permits, I’d like to travel more. There are so many destinations I’ve thought about. I’d like to see more of Europe, but still need to make it to Hawaii for the first time. I hear it’s amazing there.”
Be patient. Those are the wise words Duerkop would give to a professional just entering the industry.
“I started in the business when I was 32 years old,” he said. “I thought I was prepared to accept the amount of time it takes to get footing as a new broker in this industry but I was often frustrated by the seemingly lack of progress I was making. It was easy to get frustrated, especially when my peers seemingly thrived in their careers. Keep your chin up and focus on business development. If you have a good mentor and work ethic, that diligence and commitment will eventually pay off.”
An interesting fact about Duerkop—industrial real estate may literally be in his blood! “In the early 1960s, my grandfather, understanding the potential of a to-be-developed airport, was one of the early investors in industrial real estate development around O’Hare Airport.”
