As the pandemic drags into another winter, property owners and facility managers have been working tirelessly to ensure the safety of their tenants while also preparing for what else may be on the horizon. It may still be a long while until we return back to “normal,” and until then, it’s up to property and facility managers to keep buildings operating and tenants comfortable.
It was these themes, and more, that the panelists of the 17th Annual Chicagoland Asset, Property, Facility Management Summit highlighted and discussed. The group convened at The Drake Oak Brook for the summit, which featured three panels over two hours.
The first, which featured Micky Cicchinelli, Managing Director with SVN Chicago Commercial; Kimberly Carr, Director of Property Management for Tawani Enterprises; and Sean Peters, Business Development Manager with Kastle Systems, looked at the bigger picture for property managers and topics such as adding value, tenant demands, lease renewals, and settling disputes. The first panel was moderated by Peggy Glenn, Director of Business Development with Weathershield LLC.
The following panel covered more “in the trenches” topics, such as team building in property management, assessing game plans to keep tenants safe, managing tenant priorities and expectations, working with contractors and preparing for the unexpected. Discussing these themes during the second panel included Elena Jimenez, Commercial Property Manager with the Missner Group; Bob Collins, Executive Vice President at Crescent Cleaning Company; Toni Sawilchik, Regional Director of Business Development for Tovar Snow; and David Sawicki, Director of Environmental Sales for Milhouse Engineering and Construction. The second panel was moderated by Karyn Charvat, Executive Director of Power Forward DuPage.
Rounding out the summit was a third panel which highlighted property management and technology. As the world continues to evolve in an era where so much can be done remotely, how kind of role will technology play in the coming years? How can businesses use technology effectively? And what costs make sense as a necessity and when does it become a luxury? These are just some of the topics covered by the third panel.
Participating in the third and final panel for the 17th Annual Chicagoland Asset, Property, Facility Management Summit were Andrea Upwood, VP of Residential Assets for Captivate; Jillian Brown, Senior Advisor with Avison Young; and Mike Flanagan, Chief Growth Officer for LifeStart. Mike Collins, Commercial Client Advocate for JC Restoration moderated the third panel.