Top 100: Family Affair
| It's all in the family with Golub and The Alter Group, developers with combined Chicago experience approaching 100 years. Golub tends to stay in the city, while Alter has changed the face of the suburbs |
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Celebrating 40 years at its 625 N. Michigan office and nearly 50 years total, Golub has had a big hand in the Chicago skyline. Specializing in ownership and development of office and residential properties, the company has rooted itself in Streeterville and committed itself to Chicago for decades, says president and CEO Michael Newman. Buildings like 680 N. Michigan (Playboy's current headquarters), 919 N. Michigan, and the Hancock Center bear the Golub name. |
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Michael worked as an accountant then a mortgage banker right out of college. Over 25 years ago, he came to Golub the old fashioned way (getting to know the company through his wife, daughter of chairman Gene Golub). Recent project include the opening of Streeter Place at 355 E. Ohio St. in Streeterville and Golub's development of 22 W. Washington, the office tower that was the first new building in decades in Block 37. Oh, and if you're looking for someone to join you for a classic rock concert, go to Golub; there's lots of fans there. |
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The Alter Group began as primarily a developer/owner of suburban industrial, office, and residential property; it's since added Alter Asset Management, a property and asset management arm run by president Sam Gould, and Alter 360, the newly branded brokerage arm headed by Senior Vice President Jeff Ludwig and supported by Senior Associate Kristian Lee. Most of the properties it develops are out of state, but its 6m-SF management footprint in Chicago (17m-SF nationwide) is a dominant force in the suburbs. |
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| Few would argue the claim that Alter, under the late Bill Alter,pioneered the idea of the planned business park in the suburbs. Now son Michael runs the development arm, and Kristian's group is taking on more third-party leasing, including tenant rep: His team recently acquired the national account for Farmer Brothers Coffee. But mostly, Alter focuses on small to mid-sized local businesses. The family is growing too: Kristian will soon be the father of twins! |
