CRE Pros' First Cars
Lee & Associates of Illinois principal Jim Planey at 16, a junior at Waukegan High School, with his 1954 Ford. His father found the two-door, six-cylinder stick shift, which Jim could almost afford with his pay from Montgomery Wards. “Nothing special, some rust spots and well-used, but it was my car and it got washed every weekend,” Jim says. The Ford had wide white walls (which set the tone for the '50s) and he removed the pot hubcaps for a “cooler” effect, he tells us.
Check out this original ad for Jim’s 1954 Ford. “Heavenly Bodies with worlds of Power” sounds like it came right out of Don Draper’s mouth. Functional manufacturing space in Cook County has done well so far this year, Jim says. The labor supply is generally good in the closer-in areas and with the lack of significant new construction the last several years, space both for sale and lease is tight.
On the right: Pircher, Nichols & Meeks partner Dave Pezza in front of his first car, a 1970 Olds Cutlass in 1979 right after the blizzard that year (notice the snow two feet above the roof of the car). On the left: Dave snapped by his son, Rockwell Partners sales and leasing manager Chris Pezza, this summer in front of his 1970 Olds Cutlass 442. The original owner of the 442 was Dave’s neighbor, who showed him the car the day after he bought it new in 1970. Dave chased the car for 42 years before he had the opportunity to buy it. “How’s that for perseverance in getting a deal done?” he laughs. Catch Dave moderating at Bisnow's 6th Annual Chicago State of the Market on Oct. 28. Join us at 7am in some sky-high raw space on the 82nd floor of Willis Tower.
Here’s Chris’s first car, a green 1993 Range Rover (the same car is featured in Always Sunny in Philadelphia) named Rangerick Lionel McRovster. It was in need of a lot of tender loving care, Chris says. He had to take a fuse out every time he shut off the car or the battery would die, and in the winter he had to thaw the locks with a hair dryer just to get the door open. “But that didn’t stop it from being the coolest car at my high school,” he says. Those extra snowy days when no one else could drive, Chris could safely and comfortably get home nine kids in his backseat. It was a very solid residential leasing season with upward trends in rents and downward trends in turnover a fourth year in a row, but an early end to summer has led to a frozen market, Chris says. Landlords should prepare for another tough winter as the seasonal lull has come earlier than ever.
Snapped: NGKF Senior Managing Director Ben Greazel at age 17 with his 1974 Volvo 240. Ben’s parents always wanted him to drive something “safe and boxy,” so he got a Volvo four speed. Ben tells us his car was always getting hit in the school parking lot given all the crazy teenage drivers. In order to keep his car in mint condition (as pictured), he would tie a rope around his back bumper and a adjacent tree and drive forward to pull the bumper back out. He also warns us that the interior of the car was far worse than both the exterior color and the sweater he chose to wear in this picture. Ben just placed $18M in fixed-rate, long-term debt with a national life company lender to finance the acquisition of two parking lots located in Cincinnati, OH.
Jameson Commercial SVP Chris Irwin’s ’81 Turbo Trans Am. “One night I forgot to lock the T-tops and both flew off on the highway after I left my football game senior year of high school,” Chris says. Fun and fast in the ‘80s, the Trans Am is now considered a collectible car. At work, Chris and his colleague Tracy Tepper just repped ownership, GCP Forest Square LLC, in a lease with Hearing Lab at 840 S Waukegan Rd in Lake Forest. He’s seeing strong bank participation in the market, which has led to many new tenants, investors, and owner/users moving on properties throughout Chicago.
In 1970, Corporate Realty Advocates prez Richie Klein bought a 1967 VW Squareback (station wagon-type, representation above, looked like a little longer version of the Mini). The trunk was in front and it kept blowing open during a blizzard on the way back from Iowa City to Champaign, Richie tells us. He had to tie it down with a rope and stick a pencil in the carburetor to keep that open.
Send your first car stories and photos to marissa.oberlander@bisnow.com!
