Chicago's Hottest Submarkets

Alex is the founding partner, Chief Executive Officer, and Chief Financial Officer of CEDARst Companies. Over the past ten years, Mr. Samoylovich has sourced, invested in and managed in excess of hundreds of transactions and has been instrumental in the acquisition and disposition of real estate with a value in excess of $500mm. Utilizing a “fully integrated real estate developer” (IRED) approach, Mr. Samoylovich and his partners have seamlessly interwoven acquisition, construction, finance, management, and marketing under one company. In the past 5 years, CEDARst is considered one of the most active acquirers of distressed assets in the greater Chicago area. Under Mr. Samoylovich’s leadership, the company has carved out a niche strategy for the adaptive reuse of underperforming assets through bankruptcies, foreclosure, note purchases, and other distressed situations in the Chicago area; covering a span of product types from multifamily, office, mixed-use, and hospitality. Mr. Samoylovich has cemented a well-earned reputation as a tenacious deal maker capable of closing the most complex and demanding real estate transactions and returning superior risk adjusted returns to his investors. Prior to entering real estate, Mr. Samoylovich was an accomplished equity and options trader. During this time, Mr. Samoylovich developed a keen understanding of market psychology and timing which he forayed into a successful “short” strategy in residential real estate just prior to the recession. Mr. Samoylovich holds a BA in Business from DePaul University and is currently a member of the Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO) and the Economic Club of Chicago (ECC). In 2016, Alex was nominated to Crain’s 40 Under 40.

As the founder of Chicago Apartment Finders, Andy devoted his leadership and entrepreneurial vision to help create one of the most successful Real Estate Companies in Chicago. After earning his Illinois Managing Broker's License and gaining valuable experience in the Chicago real estate market, he started Chicago Apartment Finders (3 time INC Magazine INC 5000 award winner) in October of 2002. In September 2015 Andy successfully sold his company to Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage. From 2009-2015 Andy was also the Director of Operations of Marc Realty Residential (MRR); a joint venture of Marc Realty and Chicago Apartment Finders formed in 2009. Andy was responsible for overseeing all construction, leasing, and management of the CAF / MRR properties. At CAF / MRR, Andy oversaw over $100MM of construction projects and the leasing and management of over 1,500 rental units and 100,000 square feet of office and retail. Today, Andy is continuing his entrepreneurial vision by starting City Pads LLC. City Pads is a multifamily and mixed use real estate investment company started in June of 2015 to leverage the Chicago Apartment Finders operations and Andy's experience operating urban real estate investments. City Pads focuses on urban living and has a strong focus on branding by delivering high quality properties to serve the demands of the millennial renter. Andy is responsible for overseeing all operations of the company’s quickly growing $50MM portfolio. Mr. Ahitow was born in Oak Park, Illinois and graduated from the University of Iowa ('99) with a B.S. in Business. He is a past-President of the International Board of Directors of the Sigma Alpha Mu fraternity. He is a member of the JUF Real Estate Division, sits on the Board of Directors of the Landmarks of Illinois, is the current president of the Edgewater Uptown Builders Association (EUBA) board and is a mentor for the Einsenberg Foundation Real Estate Mentorship program.

As Director of Clayco’s residential business unit, Alan provides design and planning oversight and delivers full-service building solutions to clients on a national level. He has over 35 years of experience in the development of a wide range of residential, multi-use, hotel and hospitality projects. Alan looks for clients, projects and relationships that understand and embrace the partnering concept in pursuit of great opportunities to deliver impactful results for our clients. Alan is also active in the full range of development activities for multifamily projects in conjunction with CRG, Clayco’s development arm. Alan began his career as an architect with Skidmore, Owings and Merrill and has a Bachelor’s of Architecture from Washington University and a Masters of Architecture from the University of Illinois. He has been a member of the Home Builders of America, the Urban Land Institute, the Real Estate Investment Advisory Council, the American Institute of Architects, and the Chicago Real Estate Alliance. He has also served on the boards of the Chicago Development Council, Chicago Architecture Foundation, and the Chicago Building Congress. He has taught real estate development at the Kellogg Graduate School of Management, DePaul University’s MBA program, and for the Urban Land Institute.

As President, Jason is directly responsible for the development and implementation of Albion’s business strategy, portfolio composition and capital allocation. His oversight includes the development, acquisition, project financing, and asset management for the company’s portfolio of owned assets as well as maintaining and managing relationships with construction lenders, equity partners, and permanent mortgage lenders to maximize the profitability of each individual asset. Since 2011, Jason has been a member of the Board of Directors of Village Green and also served as the Chief Investment Officer of Village Green. Prior to joining Village Green, Jason was a Director of Structured Equity Investments for GE Capital. Earlier in his career, he was also employed by McShane Corporation, Equity Office Properties Trust and served as an officer in the United States Army.

Michael is a Partner at Condor Partners, LLC. He is responsible for overseeing all of the firm’s Real Estate development activity. Prior to joining Condor, Michael was a Development Partner at Centrum Partners LLC in Chicago. He was responsible for sourcing and developing “out of the box” and institutional level projects for Centrum. He developed over $200 million of real estate for the firm, including Hospitality, Industrial, Flex Office, and Residential. Prior to joining Centrum in early 2007, Michael founded and ran his family real estate development company in New York from 2000-2007. McLean Development, LLC focused on suburban master planned communities entitling over 2,000 residential units and 500,000sf of commercial space on Long Island and Rochester, NY. From 1998-2000 Michael and his brother Sean McLean founded and ran one of the first firms focused on Hospitality in Healthcare, helping hospitals convert vacant space to hotel and special service wards. Michael holds a Master’s of Science from New York University with a focus on International Development and Finance and a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from Princeton University.

Mitch Carrel is a Partner in the Real Estate Practice Group. His practice focuses on representing public and private companies, land owners, developers and investors and helping them secure land use and zoning approvals, public incentives, local regulatory and siting approvals, as well as performing zoning due diligence. Among Mitch's projects, he has helped obtain approvals for the siting of wireless communications facilities and written about the process from siting to completion. He also represents clients before local plan commissions, zoning boards and city councils. Before joining Freeborn, Mitch was a shareholder and led the Land Use Group at Vedder Price PC in Chicago. As a member of the both the Food and Transportation Teams, Mitch helps companies in these industries secure land use and zoning approvals, public incentives, and local regulatory and siting approvals. Mitch also contributes to The Freeborn Dispatch Blog(link is external), the firm's transportation blog. REPRESENTATIVE MATTERS Land use and zoning approvals for a 53-story, mixed-use, high-rise building in Chicago’s Streeterville neighborhood. Land use and related approvals for a 40-story mixed use, office, retail and residential building on Chicago’s Magnificent Mile. Oversight of zoning, entitlements, and street vacation matters to ensure rail operations were not impeded or negatively impacted, as part of a sale of air rights over existing rail operations, allowing for a 750-foot tall office building to be constructed in downtown Chicago. Land use, street vacations and related approvals for numerous market rate and affordable senior housing developments including assisted living facilities, supportive living facilities, and memory care facilities in Chicago and the Chicago suburbs. Land use and zoning due diligence in connection with the acquisition of an approximately $112 million 27-story, Class A mixed-use office building in Chicago’s Central Business District. Land use and related diligence to assist a joint venture partner in connection with proposals for a 2,000-foot tall, $1.5 billion project in Chicago’s Streeterville neighborhood. Land use, financial incentives, fiber optic conduit path use agreements and other approvals in connection with data centers in downtown Chicago. Land use and related approvals for a youth sports academy sponsored by two major Chicago sports team in the Chicago suburbs. Conduit Path and Facility Use Agreement with the City of Chicago for a data center project. Land use and public way waivers and approvals for high rise, mixed use projects on Chicago’s Magnificent Mile. Land use approvals for an approximately 400,000 square foot manufacturing facility in the western suburbs of Chicago. Land use, public way and related approvals for numerous hospital expansions in Chicago. Public way approvals for numerous high rise buildings in downtown Chicago. Land use, zoning and public way approvals for shopping center expansion projects in Chicago and the Chicago suburbs. Land use and related approvals for numerous grocery store projects in Chicago and the Chicago suburbs. Land use and related approvals for numerous branch banks in Chicago and the Chicago suburbs. Represented a food-related company in connection with a drive-through coffee facility on Chicago's north side. Assisted banking institutions with drive-through facilities in Chicago and in the Chicago suburbs, Land use related approvals for numerous dialysis centers throughout Chicago.

Numerous leading office building owners and developers in Suburban Chicago rely on my extensive market knowledge and expertise to develop and execute their strategic marketing plans. I have specialized in office leasing since 1998 and, along with my partner Steve Kling, have completed approximately 3,500 real estate transactions for a total value of $8 billion. My experience includes representing entrepreneurial owners and developer clients such as Hines, CBRE Global Investors, Equus Partners and Highland Management to the publicly traded Equity Commonwealth REIT and the institutional ownership of Colony Realty Trust, AEW, Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company, Principal Financial, Prudential, RREEF, GE Capital and Allstate. My ultimate goal for my clients is to maximize the value for the asset and service the client. I became a principal of Colliers International | Chicago in 2007 and share oversight of the Suburban Office Advisory Group. Prior to joining Colliers in 2003, I spent 10 years at Grubb & Ellis Company and six years working with owner-developer William A. Rogers, Inc., gaining experience and market knowledge representing both landlords and tenants.

Mr. Metcalf is Vice President of Commercial Real Estate Lending at Inland Bank and Trust. He brings over 13 years of experience in both commercial real estate underwriting and loan origination. Mr. Metcalf began his career with Inland Bank in 2004 and spent approximately 10 years in the Credit Administration group where he oversaw a team of credit analysts who were responsible for underwriting all loan requests for the bank, including commercial real estate, owner-occupied real estate, and business lines of credit. In 2015, Mr. Metcalf joined Associated Bank as a Portfolio Manager in their commercial real estate group, where he was responsible for managing a $200 million portfolio of multi-family, retail, office, and industrial real estate secured loans. In June 2016, Mr. Metcalf re-joined Inland Bank as Vice President of Commercial Real Estate Lending. In his new role he has originated over $100 million of new commercial real estate loans secured by retail, office, industrial, and multi-family assets.

As Managing Principal of Wright Heerema Architects, Roger Heerema has a proven track record of designing highly successful buildings and interiors throughout Chicagoland and across the country. His portfolio of award-winning work includes redevelopment projects, ground-up buildings, build-to-suits, and master plans. He has worked closely with investors, developers and property managers for over 30 years with a long-lasting goal of designing outstanding work spaces that excite and impress tenants. Roger received his Master of Architecture from the University of Illinois. He has provided leadership to the WHA project team since joining the firm in 1996 and continues to implement a comprehensive architectural and design approach that integrates functionality and client needs. He is active in professional affiliations and supports various local non-profit organizations including the Greater Chicago Food Depository.

Purpose, environmental sustainability and leveraging technology to positively improve people's mobility has always been a driving force in Roman Kuropas’ career. As founder and CEO of Innova UEV, Roman strives to make 100% electric, Shared, On-demand and Autonomous low speed vehicles more accessible to universities, cities and municipalities. Entities that are constantly seeking ways to address first and last mile mobility, parking issues, congestion, single occupant vehicles, carbon emissions and a service that is for everyone including the low income, seniors, veterans and paratransit.

Paul joined Hamilton Partners shortly after its creation in 1987. He started his commercial real estate career with Trammel Crow in 1984. When Allan Hamilton left Trammel Crow to form his own firm, Paul knew he wanted to pursue his career with Allan and his partners. From 1987 to 2007, Paul worked in the East West Corridor office of Hamilton Partners doing development, leasing and management of the office portfolio there. During this period, the East West Corridor Office planned, developed, leased and managed over 2 million square feet of office space. In 2007, Paul assumed responsibility for leasing Hamilton Partner’s growing portfolio of downtown office properties. By 2008, this portfolio had grown to just over 1.1 million square feet. Paul has been involved in all areas of acquisition, re-positioning, leasing and disposition downtown office buildings.