Real Estate for Breakfast

Everyone is talking about Data Centers. Recently, host Phil Coover mentioned that he was doing a podcast about data centers. “Do you think that this data center thing is a big bubble?” someone asked. “No,” he replied. “That implies that the demand will somehow go away, causing it to pop. This demand isn’t going away.” In order to break down what is really happening in Data Centers, Phil invited tw...

An innovative mixed-use development in Chicago’s Bronzeville neighborhood is being led by a collaboration of “great minds” and a “family that believes in a greater Chicago.” That’s how JC Griffin explains Metropolis Pointe. The family that believes is his family-governed Griffin Venture Group . The great minds include Jim Rylowicz, VP and general manager at CenTrio , a provider of sustainable ener...

Drawing on extensive experience navigating major shifts in the commercial real estate market, Melissa Copley reflects on her practice with McGuireWoods partner and host Phil Coover . Now vice chairman at Newmark in Chicago, where she represents large tenants of office space in major metropolitan areas, Melissa highlights the impact of today’s economic and geopolitical conditions. As tenants consid...

Slaten Construction is a “service company for building relationships,” explains founder and CEO John Slaten . And because building relationships is a core value, the company enjoys repeat business from customers with projects ranging from a $400 million data center to a $50,000 office remodel. In this conversation with host Phil Coover , John describes his journey, from launching the firm by himse...

Tandem has built an impressive portfolio scaling from single-family homes to a 200-unit high-rise in Chicago's competitive market. To explain why Crain’s took notice with a recent article about the firm, co-founders Tony Andrews and Dimitri Nassis share their remarkable journey with host Phil Coover . After reconnecting in an airport, the childhood friends partnered on their first profitable singl...

What if you could turn your real estate into a money-making machine while keeping your business running exactly where it is? Jordan Shtulman and Jonathan Wolfe of Stream Capital Partners have mastered the art of sale leaseback arbitrage, helping private equity firms unlock millions from non-earning real estate assets. With host Phil Coover , they explain how private equity firms buying businesses...

"I'm an advisor for alternative investments," explains Chris Burns about how he connects individual investors with institutional-grade opportunities. The founder of Quema Capital and a broker-dealer with Great Point Capital in Chicago, Chris specializes in helping investors access real estate syndications, development deals, acquisition funds, and private REITs. Tune in to this conversation with h...

“Underwriting in Chicago is, I think, a bit easier than a lot of other markets,” says Matt Katsaros , founder of Wildwood Investments , adding, “Especially when you're local and you know the players, you can quantify risk a little bit easier.” Matt knows the players. Wildwood Investments has carved a niche in Chicago's premier neighborhoods by developing mid-sized multifamily properties of 30 to 1...

In this episode of the Real Estate for Breakfast podcast, Ice Miller Real Estate Practice Group partner and host Phil Coover , sits down for a conversation with Joe Smazal , Senior Managing Partner at Interra Realty. Joe brings more than a decade of experience specializing in the sale of mid-market apartment buildings in Chicago. With nearly $1 billion in total property transactions under his belt...

We’re back with another episode of the Real Estate for Breakfast podcast. Ice Miller partner and host, Phil Coover sits down with David Haigh , Executive Vice President and Principal with NAI Hiffman, a full-service, privately owned commercial real estate brokerage and management company. Phil and Dave dive right into it--with Dave discussing Hiffman National, his everyday job as a broker and how...

In this episode of the Real Estate for Breakfast podcast, Ice Miller Real Estate Practice Group partner and host Phil Coover sits down with Matt Pistorio , principal at R2 Companies, a privately-held, fully integrated real estate investment and development firm, and founder of Madison Rose, a real estate firm specializing in agency leasing. During the conversation, Matt talks about his passion for...

In this episode of the Real Estate for Breakfast podcast, host Phil Coover interviews Chris Gersch, the founder and CEO of Verde Solutions (Verde). Verde is a full-service consulting firm utilizing a sensible approach to renewable energy, primarily focusing on building, financing, and engineering solar systems, also advising on battery storage and EV where appropriate but concentrating on solar en...

In this episode of the Real Estate for Breakfast podcast, Ice Miller partner Phil Coover interviews Sarah Cannella , Director of Property Management Operations for Hiffman National, which is the asset management arm of the privately owned, commercial real estate and management firm. During their conversation, Phil and Sarah discuss how Hiffman is not a one-size-fits-all company and the intrinsic k...

In this episode of the Real Estate for Breakfast podcast, Ice Miller partner Phil Coover interviews Jon McCulloch, CEO of Belgravia Group, an award-winning Chicago based real estate developer, that has provided quality homes and real estate services to clients for 75 years. During their conversation, Phil and Jon talk about his start with the company, growth, and responsibilities as CEO. Jon also...

In this episode of the Real Estate for Breakfast podcast, Ice Miller Real Estate Practice Group partner and host Phillip Coover welcomes Alissa Adler, Senior Vice President at Colliers, a global real estate services firm. During the podcast, Alissa and Phil discuss serious distress in the office real estate market nationwide—particularly in larger cities such as San Francisco, New York, and Boston...

In this edition of the Real Estate for Breakfast podcast, Ice Miller partners, host Phil Coover and co-host Jay Augustyn , welcome Peter Kelly and Daniel Reidy of Lincoln Property Company Midwest (LPC Midwest). The foursome talks about real estate development and trends, specifically in the Midwest and opportunities that the company is exploring for continued long-term growth in office, residentia...

In this episode of the Real Estate for Breakfast podcast, host Phil Coover chats with Chris Fotopoulos (EVP of Legal, Real Estate, and Risk), and Sam Harmelech, of Verano Holdings - a multi-state cannabis operator headquartered in Illinois, harvesting six brands and 120 retail dispensaries in 13 U.S. states – and growing. During their conversation, the group discusses the challenges of navigating...

On this episode of Real Estate for Breakfast, host Phil Coover and guest Kapil Khanna, CEO of Lamar Johnson Collaborative (LJC), discuss some of the design challenges that the architecture firm faces in a changing world. As part of an integrated design practice with its parent company, Clayco, a full-service, turnkey real estate, architecture, engineering, design-build and construction firm, LJC h...

On this episode of Real Estate for Breakfast, host Phil Coover is joined by a fellow champion of Chicago, Jon Morgan . Jon is co-founder and managing principal of Chicago-based Interra Realty, and he and Phil begin their conversation by discussing Interra’s formation to its emergence as a middle-market commercial real estate brokerage focusing primarily on multifamily asset sales. During the episo...

Vice President of Development for Wingspan Development Group Chris Coleman says that the privately owned real estate company is more of a “developer with a general contractor in-house,” than a traditional developer.  That vertical integration gives Wingspan a differentiator in the market.  Currently focused on multifamily and mixed-use developments in Northern Illinois, Southeastern Wisc...

Magnolia aims to balance the needs of economic development with the important task of preserving our world's most valuable natural resources.  On this episode of Real Estate for Breakfast, host Phil Coover talks environmental mitigation (that is mitigation with an “M”, not an “L”), and the creation of ecological offset markets, with Mark Bernstein of Magnolia Land Partners. The two discuss Ma...

In this episode of Real Estate for Breakfast, host Phil Coover is joined by Mike Drew, a founding principal of Structured Development, a Chicago-based real estate company. Phil and Mike discuss the history of Structured Development, including the company’s recent shift toward developing projects in up-and-coming areas of Chicago. Specifically, they discuss Structured Development’s Big Deahl projec...

In this episode of Real Estate for Breakfast, host Phil Coover is joined by his colleague and guest co-host LaTonya Ellis, and his former law school classmate, Nicole White, the newly appointed Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary at Avison Young.  Avison Young is a full service global real estate company. Nicole and Phil briefly reminisce about their time as law students at DePaul Uni...

In this episode of Real Estate for Breakfast, host Phil Coover is joined by his good friend, Colin Laitner, principal of Metis Capital, and General Counsel of Deeter Investments, based in Austin, Texas. During an engaging discussion, Phil and Colin examine the topic of Metaverse real estate – what it is, how it works and its extrinsic value. Recently, Metaverse real estate has been a hot topic in...

In this episode of Real Estate for Breakfast, host Phil Coover and co-host Jay Augustyn are joined by Nick Earls and Eric DiNicola, co-founders of Winterspring Capital. Phil and Jay sit down with Nick and Eric to discuss the pair’s 20-year friendship and how they successfully developed a business and brand from their first real estate project, which included the renovation and sale of three condom...