RealShare EXCLUSIVE: Record Attendance Expected for Conference

CHICAGO-More than 400 of Chicago’s most prominent players are expected to be in attendance for the third annual RealShare Chicago. The conference, scheduled for Tuesday, June 21 at the Renaissance Chicago Hotel, One W. Wacker Dr., will offer attendees an opportunity to network with Chicago’s savviest commercial real estate and business executives. The conference will also provide tactical resources for those affected by today’s struggling economic conditions.

The conference, hosted by Real Estate Media, publishers of Real Estate Forum and GlobeSt.com, begins at 7 a.m. with a welcome breakfast followed by opening remarks by Jonathan Schein, president and chief executive officer of Real Estate Media. Kicking off the day’s events, Diane Swonk, senior managing director and chief economist of Mesirow Financial, will deliver the morning’s keynote address. Swonk will offer an in-depth perspective on Chicago’s multifamily housing boom and its duration reflective of current and future economic trends.

Throughout the morning, several sessions will run concurrently, exploring several pertinent topics specific to Chicago’s market including: Chicago’s downtown office market; the struggles and opportunities of Chicago’s suburban market; and a debt and equity capital markets update.Moderators of the morning’s events include: Robert A. Bagguley, Midwest region president, Transwestern Commercial Services; Mark Goode, principal, Venture One Real Estate; Dean F. Dornbos, managing director, NorthMarq Capital Inc.; Earl Webb, CEO, Jones Lang LaSalle Capital Markets; Elise A. Couston, principal, Paine/Wetzel ONCOR; and Sidney G. Saltz, partner, Barnes & Thornburg LLP.Closing the morning’s agenda, Real Estate Media editor-in-chief Michael G. Desiato will host “Inside the Real Estate Mind,” a feature presentation of the conference. John Buck, chairman and CEO of the John Buck Co., will be in the hot seat to answer questions about his roots in rural Texas, his early days in Chicago real estate, his rise in development, and how he plans to move ahead in today’s current economic conditions.Subsequent to the RealShare networking luncheon, the rest of the afternoon will be dedicated to discussions on tenant-in-common investment and finance issues. The TIC Investment & Finance event will give both newcomers and those familiar with the TIC industry a solid grounding into what this growing phenomena is all about and what the issues of the day are. During this segment, attendees will learn what’s making the TIC business tick, what properties work as TICs, who is financing the deals, and hot-button tax, legal and regulatory issues impacting the TIC market. Afternoon moderators include: Michael K. Houge principal, Upland Real Estate Group Inc.; Kevin Shields, president, Griffin Capital; and Rob Hannah, president/CEO, TSG Real Estate LLC. Featured panelists include Brian E. Eliason, CEO, Eliason 1031 Properties Corp.; Michael McQuay, president and CEO, Principal Equity Management LP; and Mark Quam, president, Welton Street Investments.