Last year, Midwest Real Estate News ran its second Midwest Commercial Real Estate Hall of Fame, highlighting the careers of 62 of the industry’s most important players. Throughout this year, we’ll be running a selection of our Hall of Fame profiles on our Web site. This time, we present Laurence Elbaum, principal and co-founder with Chicago’s Bradford Allen.
Laurence Elbaum Principal, Co-Founder Bradford Allen Chicago
Laurence Elbaum has never let challenging economies slow him down. And he’s not about to let today’s difficult real estate market slow growth at the company he co-founded and serves as principal, Chicago’s Bradford Allen.
According to his peers, Elbaum has displayed steady leadership as Bradford Allen, like all successful commercial real estate companies today, has adjusted to a changing economy. Under Elbaum’s stewardship, Bradford Allen, the Chicago location of TCN Worldwide, has continued to perform solidly even as the commercial real estate market’s struggles have continued.
Elbaum’s fellow real esate professionals point to his focus on providing the best training possible for new brokers and his continuous efforts to recruit new talent to Bradford Allen for the company’s success. Elbaum is also one of the leading voices at the firm advocating new strategic directions. This focus on the future and on planning for it has kept Bradford Allen a step ahead of the sluggish economy.
In addition to his position as principal at Bradford Allen, Elbaum serves as chairman of the board for TCN Worldwide. In addition to his recruiting efforts at Bradford Allen, Elbaum also oversees TCN Worldwide’s North American recruitment efforts.
Elbaum relies on a host of qualities to remain so successful. He possesses a deep understanding of commercial real estate, and understands what makes for a successful deal. He also works hard, is honest and isn’t shy about mentoring the newer brokers at Brafdford Allen.
His experience in the industry helps, too. Elbaum started his real estate career in 1990 in New York City. He’s seen, then, both good and bad markets, and knows how to succeed in both. He opened Chicago’s Bradford Allen in 2003 with partner Jeffrey Bernstein.
Back in his New York days, Elbaum achieved a bit of history. He served as senior managing director for Insignia/ESG, making him the youngest person to achieve this title in the firm’s history. During his 10 years with that firm, Elbaum completed more than 7 million square feet of transactions.
Outside of the real estate industry, Elbaum is an active volunteer and contributor for the Lymphoma Research Foundation. He recently earned the foundation’s Chicago Tribute Award.
