Program Synopsis:  Putting The “Ease” In Green Leases
By Michele Krause, Ginsberg Jacobs LLC
 
A timely discussion of how landlords and tenants are incorporating “green” issues into their lease negotiations and lease agreements took place on February 24, 2010 at CREW Chicago’s monthly luncheon.  Ann Volz of VOA Associates Incorporated served as the moderator of a panel that included Marilyn Lissner of Cushman & Wakefield of Illinois, Inc., Victoria Noonan of Tishman Speyer and Kristen Boike of Jenner & Block LLP.  After Kristen outlined the issues currently being incorporated into lease agreements in order to address green issues, Victoria and Marilyn then shared the concerns of landlords and tenants, respectively, in addressing green issues.

Program Synopsis:
Navigating Job Transition: Getting Grounded, Gaining Ground
By Ginna Ryan, Mauge, Inc.

On February 17, 2010, The Career Transitions Center of Chicago (CTC) hosted members of CREW Chicago for an overview of their services.  The mission of the CTC is to provide professional, emotional and spiritual support to those seeking a job, looking for meaningful work, or otherwise undergoing a career transition.  The organization is membership based and is open to anyone who might benefit from its services. Membership includes access to personal coaching, use of evaluation tools to determine personal strengths and weaknesses, skill building sessions for networking, interviewing and resume writing.  They also offer cubicle spaces that are fully loaded with access to phone & internet.

CREW Chicago Launches Mentoring Program

CREW Chicago is launching an exciting Mentoring program based upon CREW Foundation Network’s, “eMentoring Program.”  The Network’s program is designed as a web-based, remote-access application, so Mentorship can span across the country.  CREW Chicago is offering a modified version whereby you can utilize the online tools and also meet face to face with your Chicago-area based Protégé. 

As a Mentor, you and your Protégé will walk through the eMentoring Program’s 12 modules, which are focused on self discovery, values and action planning.  We expect this to be an enriching journey for both you and your Protégé.  CREW Chicago’s pilot program will last for 9-12 months, beginning in March 2010. Click here for an expanded description of the Mentor’s role.

8 outstanding, highly-motivated young women in real estate have been selected as Protégés and are excited to team up with 8 equally motivated CREW Chicago Mentors.  Although there are only 8 Protégés for our pilot program, we encourage all who are interested to respond.  From the respondents, Mentors will be carefully selected based upon who best matches the Protégé’s interests.  If there is a match, you will be contacted mid-March; and then plan on attending a Kick Off Party the 3rd or 4th week of March.  

If you don’t get paired, don’t fret.  We hope this pilot program will be a success and expanded soon. 

If you are interested in participating in this exciting opportunity, complete the application form.  Once filled out, please return to Debbie Gidley, email  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or fax 312-750-1203, by February 28th, 2010.

Who Doesn't Want to Fast Forward to 2040?

By: Yvonne A. Jones, CPM, CCIM
Zifkin Realty Group, LLC

In difficult economic times, many of us are anxious to look forward to better things. Looking forward, however, is more meaningful if we consider what went right and what went wrong in the past. At the January 27th CREW Chicago luncheon, members and guests learned about the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning’s (CMAP) Go To 2040 plan for our region.

CMAP was created in 2005 by combining two predecessor agencies into one. The Go To 2040 plan is our region’s first real comprehensive plan since Daniel Burnham’s vision a century ago. CMAP projects that population and jobs in Chicago’s metropolitan area will increase by approximately 2.8 million and 1.5 million, respectively, by 2040. The counties included in the forecast are Cook, Lake, DuPage, McHenry, Will and Kendall. CMAP also projects that much of this growth will be in dense urban areas, as opposed to wide-open rural areas.

Randall Blankenhorn, Executive Director of CMAP, observed that the 2040 plan is bold, and can only be successfully implemented if both government and citizens begin to think comprehensively about the future. What do we need to do to remain competitive in the years to come? Where will jobs be created? What type of education should we provide to our children so they are ready for tomorrow’s jobs? What type of transportation and/or infrastructure needs do we have? How can we better use and/or conserve our natural resources? Will our cities be wireless? Is our tax structure effective or should it be changed? These are all important questions that CMAP is discussing and asking communities and their residents to share their opinions.

CMAP is engaging and communicating with communities and their residents through their website, MetroQuest(www.metroquest.com). There, one has the opportunity to learn about the agency, keep up with its efforts, and even see the impact that specific policy choices would have on future planning. The website is fun and designed to spark a dialogue which CMAP hopes will foster a “partnership for growth”.

CREW Chicago members who are interested in learning more about CMAP and their Go To 2040 plan are encouraged to visit the website and sign up for Mr. Blankenhorn’s blog at http://www.cmap.illinois.gov/updates/.

We extend our special thanks to Jeanne Peck with @ Properties for interviewing Randall S. Blankenhorn,
the executive director of CMAP.

Fun Fact:
Why is the plan named Go To 2040 and not Go To 2030 or Go To 2050? Randy Blankenhorn, Executive Director of CMAP, stated that the federal government requires regional plans to have at least a 20- year horizon. He observed that “2030 was too close and 2050 was too far”, so they decided on 2040.

I am so excited and honored to be your CREW Chicago President for 2010 and 2011.  

I love this great organization and have been an active member for16 years.  I owe the success of my career to many of the women in CREW Chicago and now in CREW Network.  Many of my closest friends are members of CREW and now it is time to give back.

First, I want to thank Cindy Wozny-Carl, our recent past president for her commitment and leadership the last two years.  These were challenging times, yet with her guidance and the help of the CREW Chicago Board, Committee Chairs, Co-Chairs and member support, our membership is at its all time highest level and the quality of our new members exceeds all our expectations.  CREW Chicago raised money at our annual fundraiser, Last Call for Fall and we distributed a total of $9000 to three very qualified young women to help with their advancement in commercial real estate.  The accomplishments under her leadership the last two years go on and on and we owe much appreciation to Cindy for her dedication to the success of the CREW Chicago organization.  Thanks Cindy.

So what’s in store for 2010?

Program Synopsis:  2009 Last Call For Fall
By: Michele Krause, Ginsberg Jacobs LLC

CREW Chicago’s annual fundraising event, Last Call For Fall, took place on November 12th at Kirkland & Ellis LLP’s beautiful Conference Center and was a huge success.  A record crowd attended the event and participated in a wonderful evening of networking and a silent auction.  Last Call for Fall benefits the CREW Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization which has always targeted its funding to innovative programs that assist women and girls achieve economic self-sufficiency, such as CREW Careers and the CREW Chicago Real Estate Scholarship Fund. 

Program Synopsis:  CREW Careers 2009
By Deborah Krohn, Krohn Studio

CREW Chicago held the third annual CREW Careers event on October 17th at DLA Piper’s offices, 203 N. LaSalle St.   From 8:00 am to 4:30 pm about 40 bright and enthusiastic young girls from the Off the Street Club, Walter Payton High School, other young friends of CREW members, CREW members and volunteers explored the variety of real estate career options using hands-on sessions involving real-world challenges in real estate leasing and space use.

     Member Spotlight

     Jeanne Darrow Peck
     Director
     Institutional Services Group of  @properties

Identify your profession, company, position and primary responsibilities:

As Director, I'm responsible for bringing in brokerage, receivership, consulting, asset management, property management, sales marketing and other workout services to my business division of @properties.  In conjunction with these responsibilities my team also relies on me for marketing advice (despite that I'm a finance geek at heart)!

Program Synopsis:  2009 CREW Network Convention
By Jan Fiola, Bedford Cost Segregation

The CREW Network Convention in Boston this year exceeded all my expectations.

CREW Chicago
Member News, December 2009

Audrey Davis, MAI, MBA of Urban Real Estate Research, Inc. served as a speaker/author at the 29th Annual National Conference of State Tax Judges in Cambridge, Massachusetts, September 24-26, 2009.  The conference was sponsored by the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy and the topic she addressed was Property Tax Appeals in the Current Economic Environment.  Davis was also a speaker/author at the Appraisal Institute Seminar, speaking on the topic of “The Nuts & Bolts of Tax Appeal: Property Tax Seminar and Mock Hearing (2009).”  In addition, she was elected to the Board of Directors of the Chicago Chapter of the Appraisal Institute.

Pamela Flores is now Associate Director of Public Relations at the Chicago office of GyroHSR LLC, an integrated marketing communications, advertising and public relations agency.

Judy Karlov, Principal with Alliance Cost Containment (ACC), is the 2010 Women’s Group Co-Chair of the Turnaround Management Association (TMA).  TMA is an additional networking opportunity for the many CREW members currently doing workouts.  Events can be found at www.chicago.turnaround.org.  Judy especially recommends the next Women’s Group luncheon in February.

Courtney Mayster is now a principal at law firm Much Shelist. 

Spes Mekus, ASID, IIDA, LEED AP, had an exciting summer at Mekus Tanager, Inc. (MTI), helping the firm achieve some exciting company milestones.  Her firm recently completed four significant projects, across very different market sectors.  First, was the completion of the new South Campus Residence Hall at the University of Chicago, for which Spes led the interior design efforts in collaboration with the building architect, Goody Clancy Associates of Boston.  The new hall was featured in a recent architectural review by Blair Kamin in the Chicago Tribune, and opened for student occupancy last fall.  Spes also led the design of Konica Minolta’s new space, who was represented by Marilyn Lissner of Cushman and Wakefield.  The Konica Minolta space is exciting because it is an example of adaptive reuse of existing conditions that can save money and still create a stunning work environment.  On the retail side of the firm, the Kenly 95 truck stop, designed by fellow Principal, Steve Wierzbowski, was recently completed, featuring a life-size model lighthouse tower.  And finally, MTI completed the first LEED-NC Certified building for the Archdiocese of Chicago, the new Chapels and Administration Complex at All Saints in Des Plaines, IL.  The complex is currently pending LEED-NC Gold Certification.  In addition, Spes has been giving trends presentations to clients and conducting market strategy assignments for clients interested in embracing new approaches to the use of real estate and space for competitive advantage and greater value.

Lynn E. Reich, SIOR, CCIM, Executive Vice President with Colliers Bennett & Kahnweiler Inc.’s Industrial Services Group was officially sworn in to the position of International President of the Society of Industrial and Office Realtors (SIOR).  The ceremony took place in Toronto, Ontario Canada at the fall SIOR World Convention.  Reich is only the second woman to hold this position in the organization’s 68-year history.

Janet M. Johnson will be moderating at panel on legal issues for the Illinois Real Estate Journal's 8th Annual Commercial Real Estate Forecast Conference on January 19, 2010 at the Chicago Downtown Marriott.  Information on the event and the online registration form can be found at www.recg.com\conferences.

By Pam Austin, McCaffery Interests

On Wednesday October 28, CREW Chicago members and guests lunched at the East Bank Club and heard Carl Tannenbaum’s  views on the economy entitled,  “The Lessons of Recession:  Reflections on Banking, the Economy and Commercial Real Estate”.   Carl has a breadth of knowledge on the topic as he has lived through four recessions and was formerly the Chief Economist and Director of Balance Sheet Management for LaSalle Bank prior to joining the Federal Reserve Bank, Risk Specialist Division. 

Carl attempted to lighten the mood with some jokes before launching into a thorough PowerPoint of economic indicators and his take on what the data says about the most challenging conditions in the last 30 years.  He believes there are some “green shoots” out there on the economic landscape but there are still some challenging quarters ahead as credit is restrained, wealth is diminished and employment lags. 

Some of the telling stats:

• Unemployment is 10%.  Jobs are not being lost at as fast a rate they were but initial claims are still in the 500,000s and nearly 6,000,000 Americans are out of work.

• The real GDP was negative the past 4 quarters but there was 3-4% positive growth in Q3 of 2009, thanks in part to government incentives like “Cash for Clunkers” and the first time homebuyers tax credit.

• Consumer sales weren’t bad for “back to school” but retailers are still unclear about how to handle Christmas inventory. 

• Household net worth declined dramatically as house values lost 10-50%.

• Consumers are starting to save again at a rate of 6-8%.  Ironically, American were spending when we should have been saving and now that the capital markets need cash flow, we aren’t making money available.

• Commercial real estate valuation is difficult right now.  Prices have decreased 20% from peak to trough.

• Commercial real estate loan delinquency rates are still increasing.

• Lending terms are still getting tighter.  There is not a lot of lending going on.  Commercial Mortgage-Backed Securities (CMBS) are at a standstill. The traditional sources of funding for commercial real estate are not available.

• More than 90 financial institutions closed this year. Many survived with help from the government.

• CMBS spreads are 350bp (10 year AAA) over swaps.

• There are a significant number of leases coming up for renewal in the next two years; leasing and absorption will be challenging.

• Home loan delinquencies are still rising and are not limited to subprime loans.  Unemployment is the reason.

• The average down payment in 2007 was only 3.5%!  Consumers do not have much equity in their homes and payments are rising.

• Total number of loans since WWII is down as banks exercise caution.

So what is being done to help?  There is $800 billion in fiscal stimulus money; TALF (Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility), PPIFF (Public-Private Infrastructure Financing Facility) for banks; foreclosure mitigation programs; bigger line for the FDIC; and the Federal Reserve has added significantly to its balance sheet.

CREW Chicago President, Cindy Wozny-Carl, addressed the audience before Carl’s talk to let everyone know that the CREW Chicago Program Committee revised 2009 events midway through the year to meet the increasing numbers of members in transition, in keeping with CREW’s mission to  foster an environment for professionals to network and promote personal growth.

Spa Weekend 2009
By Judy Karlov, Alliance Cost Containment

Consensus:  We can hardly wait to go back next year!

25 CREW members and guests enjoyed a gorgeous September weekend at the Heartland Spa.

Marcia Rubenstein has once again generously volunteered to coordinate Spa Weekend 2010.  Maybe that’s because we had such a fun surprise birthday party for her on contraband night.  (Just kidding – she had already volunteered.)

Program Synopsis:  Building A Referral Machine
By Kristine Westerberg, Newcastle Limited

The September 23rd program at the East Bank Club provided members with new insights on networking and referrals.  Cindy Wozny-Carl, CREW Chicago president, began the meeting by recognizing Sharon Krohn, past CREW president, who received the Impact Award from Illinois Real Estate Journal.  Ms. Wozny-Carl then introduced Dr. Jewel Oates of The Women’s Treatment Center, who thanked members for donations of gently used clothing collected at the meeting, and explained the Center’s work on behalf of women recovering from substance abuse. 

3rd Annual CREW Careers a HUGE Success!

Our thanks to the great CREW crew!

Dear Amy and the wonderful ladies of CREW,

It has been several days since the really terrific event all of you planned and perfectly executed for the fortunate girls of Off The Street Club, yet there is still a real excited buzz around here among all the girls!

Our heartfelt gratitude to the planning committee and to each and everyone of you who made our girls feel like family and who truly did broaden their horizons in a meaningful way. Thanks again for everything and many blessings to each of you.

Most sincerely,

Ralph Campagna
Executive Director
Off The Street Club 

President's Message - December 2009

As part of our mission to promote and support the advancement of women in commercial real estate, we are proud to announce CREW Chicago’s 2009 scholarship recipients: Stephanie Matko, Lauren Thomas, and Natalia Todorov.
Stephanie Matko is a graduate student at DePaul University pursuing an MBA and currently works at Grubb and Ellis.  Lauren Thomas, LEED accredited, is a graduate student at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.  Her work experience includes, Getty's Chicago, De Stefano + Partners, LG Development and Studio IDE.   Natalia Todorov is a graduate student at Northwestern University pursuing an MBA.  She previously worked at Prudential Mortgage Capital Company.  Congratulations Stephanie, Lauren and Natalia.  We look forward to watching your careers and are happy to be part of that effort.

Program Synopsis:  Opportunities During Inopportune Times
By Cheryl Stein

The April 29, 2009 panel was expertly moderated by Jeanne Peck, Vice President of Fifield Companies (CREW member), who posed insightful and direct questions while keeping everyone focused. After lunch for a record crowd, these four real estate professionals shared with CREW members how they create or capitalize on new positive opportunities that could result from the current adverse market conditions:

Robert Bond, Co-Founder & President of Bond Companies
Jim Farrell, Managing Director of Navigant Consulting, Inc.
Joanna Haerle, Director, Business Development of W.E. O’Neill Construction Company (CREW Board)
Rob Weil, Senior Vice President of JDI Realty

Each speaker acknowledged that the overall economy would take time to recover, but they differed as to how long it would need and whether it will become much worse before it turns around.

Farrell declared that the commercial real estate industry had become so overgrown that sales had to die and did collapse on October 2008.  He thought that promising fields are healthcare, government, infrastructure, stimulus projects and corporate real estate. 

Bond, who is co-founder of his real estate development and investment firm, elaborated on the tremendous capital growth and liquidity that was created by the CMBS since 1992. His financial analysis of all four types of real estate was pretty grim until 2013, but now is the time to learn and do more in the sustainable areas that will continue to expand in the future. He remains active in many organizations and suggests capitalizing on the wide distribution that the Internet process offers.

Fortunately, Haerle offered some specific business development ideas for us to sink our efforts into such as: examine your survival strategies for future growth; enhance your key relationships and add value to your customers; further diversify your industry categories and sizes of customers and suppliers; offer new specialty services that are of value to your clients; and tap into smaller projects and markets. She observed that her company had shifted from dealing primarily with private companies to the public sector.

Weil is a real estate attorney who had worked with a major law firm prior to joining an entrepreneurial real estate investment /development firm. He ultimately became a principal of this firm that focuses on debt and equity transactions. His emphasis is on capitalizing and buying properties at deep discounts. Weil cited that he focuses on the weekly FDIC auctions that provide a wealth of property pools, where the Federal government actually provides up to 85% financing.  The limitation for players is these pools are quite large, at $1 billion or more they require $15 million of equity. He stated that 2008 was slow but his sector this year is busy.

All four panelists encouraged personal networking and learning more about LEED and sustainability, and agreed that smaller firms are the first movers and early adapters of new opportunities.