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From rooftops to risk management: Inside Chicago’s evolving property playbook By Brandi Smith
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hicago’s property managers are juggling more than tenant calls and rent checks these days. Rising expenses, volatile taxes, tight lending conditions and a flood of new tech tools have reshaped the job into something closer to air traffic control. The fundamentals — keeping buildings full and tenants happy — haven’t changed, but how managers get there is shifting fast. For some firms, that means doubling down on proven strengths. Others are expanding into new asset classes or geographies. Either way, the balancing act between efficiency and personal touch has never been trickier.
Roger Daniel, founder and president of Daniel Management Group, says Chicago’s multifamily market continues to outpace expectations, even as operations grow more complex. “It’s not for the faint of heart,” Daniel said. “Property management in Chicago comes with unpredictable taxes, politicized interest rates and plenty of regulatory gotcha moments.” Multifamily remains the workhorse of his portfolio. He credits both steady renter demand and Chicago’s surprising rent growth compared with peer cities.
“The multifamily asset class has been on an incredible run; If it were baseball, we’d be in inning 15 and still going strong,” Daniel said. “Chicago has had the highest yearover-year rent growth of any city in the country. I can’t remember the last time that was the case.” At Xroads Advisors, Chief Operating Officer Suzanne Hendrick oversees medical office, general office, retail and flex industrial properties, most of them outside the city’s core. PROPERTY MANAGEMENT (continued on page 12)