The message during the 24th annual Chicago Forecast Conference held last week by Illinois Real Estate Journal was a simple one: Don’t wait for the economy to grow stronger. Don’t wait for real estate deals to become easier to close. Act now. Because this is the new normal … at least for today.
A big crowd of Illinois commercial real estate professionals jammed the conference rooms at the Hyatt Regency O’Hare Chicago in Rosemont Jan. 15 for the big conference, the largest and longest-tenured such event in the Midwest.
Last week’s event featured networking opportunities — a chance for CRE professionals to discuss commercial activity in their markets, chat about possible deals and discuss the state of the Chicago-area CRE market — plus plenty of industry insight from some of the biggest names in the business.
Panels focused on all commercial sectors, property management, finance, the state of Chicago’s economy and CRE market, strategies that brokers and developers can take to succeed and the potential better times coming in 2026 and beyond.
The forecast conference’s general sessions kicked off with the Navigating Chicago CRE: What’s Moving the Market Sectors panel, in which some of the biggest names in Chicago’s commercial real estate industry took a deep dive at all that’s happening in the local real estate business.
Participating in this panel were Navigating Chicago CRE: What’s Moving the Market Sectors Carrie Szarzynski, Senior Managing Director and Head of Management Services, Hiffman National; Paul O’Connor, Partner, Hamilton Partners; Christy Domin, Senior Vice President, Riverside Investment & Development; Tom Leary, Vice President, ARCO/Murray; Noel Liston, Managing Broker, Founder, Core Industrial Realty; Marcia K. Owens, Partner, Honigman LLP, the session’s moderator; and Steven D. Weinstock, Senior Managing Director, Market Leader, Marcus & Millichap
The consensus? Chicago does face challenges, as do all major cities. But there’s plenty to like about doing business in Chicago, too, including its deep labor pool, ideal location in the center of the city, strong infrastructure and bustling transportation and distribution hubs.
Panelists admitted that closing CRE deals isn’t easy today. But they also agreed that navigating the Chicago CRE market today isn’t “COVID hard” but more like a typical “Tuesday hard.” What’s that mean? There are challenges, but they’re not nearly as daunting as those that CRE professionals faced during the height of the pandemic.
As far as the main commercial sectors go, panelists agreed that retail, industrial and multifamily remain resilient. These aren’t necessarily boom times for these sectors, but the fundamentals of these asset classes remain strong.
The office sector? That is still struggling, though panelists agreed that not all office types are struggling equally. There is still a flight to quality, with Class-A office space performing better than other classes. But panelists said that they are also seeing an increase in interest for office spaces that are slightly below Class-A level in quality but are also more affordable, spaces that are attractive to the small businesses that account for so much of the Chicago business world.
Participating in the second general session, the Development Market Update panel, were Steve Schnur, Chief Operating Officer, CRG; Richard Davey, Vice President of Operations, W.E. O’Neil; Geoffrey Kasselman, Co-Founder & CEO, Evoke Partners (Moderator); Cal Kropke, Vice President, Trammell Crow Company; and Keith Lord, President and Managing Partner, The Lord Companies.
Panelists said that demand for new development in the Chicago region remains solid. But certain markets — especially industrial — continue to deal with the ramifications of the construction boom that took place during COVID. There simply isn’t enough of a need for as much new industrial space today.
Panelists also said that they expect demand for data center space to continue to soar, especially as more companies turn to AI. The challenge here? Many municipalities — panelists cited Aurora as an example — are restricting the construction of large-scale industrial facilities as a response to the complaints from neighbors. Panelists said that it is important to promote the benefits of these significant developments and for developers to work closely with communities to keep the construction coming.
The general sessions portion of the conference closed with the Capital Markets: New Year, New Opportunities panel. Speaking on this panel were Jerry Lumpkins, Senior Vice President-Midwest CRE Division Head, Valley National Bank; Melissa Furman, Melissa Furman Asset Management, PGIM; Kristina Lynn, Senior Director, Housing & Alternative Investments, Nuveen Real Estate; Annamarie Bjorklund, Senior Vice President, Debt & Equity, Northmarq; Todd Phillips, CEO, Legacy Property Trust, th epanel’s moderator; and Zach Yarnoff, Managing Director, Cushman & Wakefield.
The forecast also featured several break-out panels focusing on different sectors.
Speaking on the Industrial panel were Cameron Trefry, Regional Vice President, Ware Malcomb; Brian Quigley, Executive Vice President, Conor Commercial Real Estate; Josh Hearne, Principal, Cawley CRE; Robin Stolberg, Executive Director of Acquisitions, Clear Height Properties; Gianni Vissat, Acquisitions, Central Region, Realterm; Tyler Sharp, Senior Director Investments, Marcus & Millichap; and J. D. Salazar, Managing Principal, Champion Realty Advisors, LLC.
The Multifamily panel featured Samantha Miller, Senior Vice President – Mortgage Banker, KeyBank Real Estate Capital; Mark Gross, National Account Executive, CSSI Services, LLC; Roger Daniel, President, Daniel Management Group; Maxwell Jacobson, Chicago Market Principal, S.R. Jacobson Development Corp.; Joe Smazal, Senior Managing Partner, Interra Realty; John Przybyla, Managing Director, Horvath & Tremblay; and Gail Lissner, Managing Director, Integra Realty Resources, the panel’s moderator.
Participating in the Property Management panel were James A. Hochman, Partner, Schain Banks Kenny & Schwartz, who served as moderator; Natalie Cico, SVP, Property Management, Newmark; Zinnia Olsson, Client Services, Confirmed Life Safety; Gary Shamasko, President, Jamerson & Bauwens; Jonathan Swindle, President, Waveland Property Group, Inc.; Jeff Weinberg, President, Drexel Properties; and Kirsten Bowersox, President, XR Advisors.
Speaking on the Economic Development Opportunities panel were Kostas Poulakidas, Shareholder, Greenberg Traurig LLP, the session’s moderator; Kevin Leighty, CEcD, Economic Development Director, Village of Oswego; Rick Calinski, Director of Public Affairs and Economic Development, NIPSCO; Paulina San Millan, SVP, Business Development, Illinois Economic Development Corporation; Alyson Grady, Deputy Director, Office of Regional Economic Development, Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity; and Kevin Kramer, CEcD., Director of Economic Development, Village of Hoffman Estates
