CHICAGO—The Sterling Bay Companies, aChicago-based commercial real estate development company, hasappointed George Kohl as its chief operatingofficer. Andy Gloor, managing principal says Kohlwill assume his responsibilities in late November and oversee allaspects of company operations, including property management andleasing, legal, construction services, engineering andaccounting.

“Over the last several years, as Sterling Bay has built anincreasingly significant portfolio and supporting operations, werecognized the need to further elevate our management platform byadding someone with a proven track record for guiding and directingoperations,” Gloor says. “With George's years of experiencebuilding and growing organizations, he is the best candidate for usand a tremendous addition to Sterling Bay.”

The company plays a key role in the ongoing transformation of thecity's Near West Side, which now attracts a great dealof interest from investors and tenants. Last year, the firm boughtthe Fulton Market Cold Storage at 1000 W. Fultonand began converting the 550,000-square-foot structure, renamed1KFulton, into modern office space. They willcomplete those renovations sometime next year and have leased morethan 380,000-square-feet of space to Google, amongothers.