company in 1998 the goal was to bring a high level of service to the local owners that typically are overlooked by the large national real estate firms. “As the national and international real estate brokerage companies became larger and their overhead expanded, their focus moved to larger, more profitable transactions and on national relationships. As a consequence, the resulting midsized deals received less and less attention from the experienced brokers,” Cawley says. “The result was an opportunity to service the institutional owners on their midsized space with increased service and expertise.” Servicing any and all needs Cawley Chicago designed each business line so they could offer additional services to their client base. For example, their advisory and valuation services include insurance appraisals; material handling and logistic management services allow requirements to be determined from the inside out. These areas of the company will address management plans, tenant relations, accounting, maintenance, budgeting, capital plans, contracts, emergency plans and insurance and property taxes. The firm hopes to grow its property management line significantly in the coming years as the same logic offered on the brokerage side applies to the management side. “We are confident that we can grow this to 10-15 million square feet over the next 3 years,” Cawley says. “The top four property management companies in Chicago each manage over 90 million square feet, and we offer better service. As a result, we may end up with a 5-6 million square foot institutional owner who recognizes the importance of great tenant service. When you look at the market today, property management probably has the single largest impact on a tenants’ decision to stay or move to another space. What is the value of that to owners when you look at the extended lease up timelines in today’s market?”
In their continuing effort to broaden their range of solutions to the existing client base, Cawley created new lines of business in 2010. “In front of all of our services we now have the ability to make valuation and appraisal recommendations to strategy. We feel the value of the real estate market out there and believe we can provide our clients opportunities for understanding, creating, maximizing and maintaining those values.” In addition, Cawley says that the company will soon add a capital markets business line to provide lending and workouts for the consulting business. As Cawley Chicago moves forward and continues to grow, the firm plans to take on more skilled professionals. “We plan to add 4-8 new associates over the next 2 years. Our team hopes to continue to broker and manage more square footage, and extend our reach through the Society of Industrial Office Realtors Global Independent Brokers Network to grow our inbound and outbound referral business.” Active Roofing For over 4 decades, Active Roofing has been driven to be the most dependable commercial/industrial roofing company in the Chicagoland area. We promote a proactive, preventative maintenance approach that can add years to the life of your roof. We help save thousands in expenses and maximize your investment. We also stay ready 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to be there for the unexpected emergencies.
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Following the overall lead of the company and commitment to quality and satisfaction, the construction management division aims to offer superior service for property owners. “There are a lot of construction management companies out there,” Cawley says. “Again, what we are trying to do is bring that service level to our properties and the owners of the properties to have existing tenants stay and attract new tenants. It is really all about providing a difference making level of service to all of our clients.”
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