Big Ten Player Makes Big Ten Play

Studley executive managing director Robert Sevim, former Big Ten tennis player at Northwestern, just repped the storied conference in the sale of its Park Ridge HQ and move to a state-of-the-art build-to-suit in Rosemont, and he tells us it required an open mind and heavy collaboration among the conference's countless constituents (coaches, players, super fans in body paint, etc). The group "started with no predetermined solution in mind," he says, and considered expansion or redevelopment at their previous site or building out within a traditional office complex, eventually landing on a build-to-suit as the most viable way to meet their needs. And those needs continue to grow, as the conference adds Rutgers and the University of Maryland and sports like hockey and lacrosse.

The Big Ten's former HQ at 1500 W Higgins Rd (above), where it was located for 20 years, was sold for $2.7M to private medical professionals (repped by Transwestern's Cece Conway). It'll likely be redeveloped for an owner-occupier medical purpose, Robert says. The Big Ten's new build-to-suit, within MB Financial Park in Rosemont, is almost twice the size and includes an interactive museum and TV command center to monitor games in real time. Still an active tennis player (and Roger Federer fan), Robert says athletics taught him patience, hard work, and determination, which have translated into valuable lessons in real estate. He was recognized as Chicago's No. 1 35-plus tennis player last year by the US Tennis Association.