Each year, Midwest Real Estate News elects the top CRE pros to its Midwest Commercial Real Estate Hall of Fame. Each week, we run profiles from that Hall of Fame issue. The goal is to give our readers a look at what makes for a CRE Hall of Famer. This week, we look at the career of Andrea Saewitz, executive managing director with Cushman & Wakefield in Chicago.
Experience matters: During her career of more than 36 years, Andrea Saewitz has closed more than 2,000 transactions totaling more than 7 million square feet. She is responsible for the leasing of such major Chicago properties as theMART, 303 East Wacker, Two North Riverside Plaza and 55 West Monroe.
A strong track record: It’s little surprise with those production numbers that Saewitz has landed a long list of top clients. These include such big names as Vornado, Shorenstein Realty, Prentiss Properties, John Hancock Life Insurance Co. and Equity Group Investments.
To nab these clients, Saewitz only has to point to her long list of successful transactions. She leased 500,000 square feet in 30 months for Vornado at theMART, 480,000 square feet in 24 months at 123 North Wacker on behalf of Prentiss Properties and 300,000 square feet in 30 months for Equity Group Investments/Pearlmark at 200 South Wacker.
“I really enjoy working with business leaders, learning about the challenges they face in their companies/industries and devising real estate solutions that can address these issues,” Saewitz said. “Every deal has its challenges, making each day different and exciting. I have a passion for people, and I have the pleasure of working with tenant representation brokers to accommodate their clients’ needs, with my colleagues at C&W and also with Chicago’s leading business community.”
Avoiding that cookie-cutter mentality: Saewitz points to her deal-making skills and her ability to find creative solutions for her clients as big reasons for her success.
“My passion for deal-making and creative solutions has driven my success in the industry,” she sad. “I pride myself on being very responsive to landlords, brokers and company decisionmakers, despite the size of the deal. I find that it’s most important to devise creative, custom solutions for clients, listening to their challenges and addressing those specifically, instead of providing a cookie-cutter approach to the business and deal making. The personal relationships I have forged in the industry, my consistent hard work and my constant communication guarantee that I am a trusted partner to our clients.”
Out-of-office hours: When not closing deals, Saewitz travels, cooks, exercises and spends time with her family and friends. She also supports the Susan G. Komen Foundation, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Alzheimer’s Association, NA’AMAT USA and Mishkan Chicago’s Maggie’s Place Community Center.
