Cawley Chicago has announced the appointment of Zach Pruitt as principal, as the firm continues to build on its newly launched urban redevelopment and adaptive reuse client services platform in Chicago and the surrounding areas. The firm also hired Nicholas Schaefer as vice president.
The appointments solidify the Chicago city industrial practice group and reunites Pruitt and Schaeffer with Doug Hayes, Frank Melchert and Stevan Arandjelovic. The five real estate professionals have joined Cawley Chicago since the end of 2017. They previously worked for NelsonHill in Chicago.
“Cawley Chicago continues to build on the platform of services we’re offering to clients,” said Mike McKiernan, principal and sales manager, Cawley Chicago. “The addition of Zach and Nicholas, and reuniting them with Hayes, Melchert and Arandjelovic, creates a unique services team for building and business owners in Chicago and its neighborhoods.”
Pruitt brings 15 years of extensive real estate experience, ranging from complex lease negotiations and sale-leasebacks to build-to-suits and portfolio management. He has successfully represented clients, from small businesses to Fortune 500 companies, throughout the greater Chicagoland area and in more than 50 markets nationally and internationally. Pruitt previously spent over ten years at NelsonHill, and DTZ/UGL Equis (now part of Cushman & Wakefield).
At Cawley Chicago, Pruitt will co-head the firm’s efforts to establish a downtown office and is a leader of the urban redevelopment and adaptive reuse services team. In addition to site disposition and lease representation, Pruitt and the team provide thorough representation to end-users in need of new space as a tenant or owner-user, and representation to investors and developers evaluating acquisitions.
The focus of Cawley’s urban redevelopment and adaptive reuse services team typically is a two-part process that assists owners of commercial real estate in maximizing their asset’s value and then, potentially, relocating their operations to a more efficient and productive locations. This consists of representing owners with the sale of their properties by positioning the asset for highest-and-best-use, assisting owners of underperforming assets by creating a strategic leasing initiative and implementing a comprehensive marketing approach to achieve increased occupancy.
“By aligning our client’s real estate needs and goals with a comprehensive strategy, we leverage an in-depth understanding of the market and its individual submarkets, with a driven approach, to provide optimal results and maximum returns,” Pruitt said.
