"We have generations of training and we've all been operating together for so long that the operation will be seamless," John tells GlobeSt.com. "As the transition occurs, the innovation, creativity, development opportunities and the way we operate will all remain the same. We're always searching for innovative opportunities, whether that's ground up development or retooling existing developments, and we always go in eyes wide open to create something fresh and exciting."
The company is known locally for its development of Water Tower Place, 730 North Michigan Ave. and 333 West Wacker Dr. It met acclaim elsewhere for work on Boston's Copley Place; Los Angeles' Fox Plaza; Philadelphia's One Logan Square; The Inn & Links at Spanish Bay in Pebble Beach, CA; and Aspen, CO's The Little Nell hotel. Both John, who heads the Denver office, and Daniel, who manages the firm's Phoenix and Chicago offices, will assume the role of principal. Steven Rudolph has also been named principal in the company's restructuring, while Thomas Klutznick will become chairman emeritus.
The company is currently focusing its efforts on the more than $2.5 billion CityNorth, a 144-acre mixed-use development in Desert Ridge, near Phoenix, AZ. When completed, the development is expected to offer six million square feet of retail, office and residential space. The firm's most recent endeavor in Chicago was the development of retail on the ground level of the Peninsula Hotel four years ago.
"We're looking for projects in Chicago where we can stamp innovation on and try to do things in a new and progressive way that will last the test of time," John says. "We like projects that have a little bit of legacy on them, but that's not a prerequisite. You can't be too choosy right now."
John says while current market conditions are complicating real estate development in many ways, it is also creating unique opportunities. "We always carry a reserve of cash, and if you have some cash built up, you can take advantage of a market like this," he says. "We've been around a long time and gone through peaks and valleys, and this is a stronger downturn that we've seen, but you still carry your company in the same way. You reach out to your network to see what they're seeing in different sectors and what may happen, and somewhere in there opportunity will present itself."
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