Selected Special Projects…

A sample of services-on-demand and as requested for expertise, facilitation and education…

National Association of Realtor’s National Center for Real Estate Research – Focusing on the commercial real estate market, JBCC is conducting original research to identify: the primary drivers of office use demand; causes and influences on shifts in office demand; office-using industries and trends affecting those industries impacting both office leasing and office properties’ sales.

U.S.–China Investment and Trade Development Associates needed help facilitating a group of visiting Chinese bankers who wanted to learn about real estate underwriting and lending practices in the United States. A principal of U.S.-China Investment and Trade Development Associates contacted JBCC knowing of its network of contacts in the real estate industry and the real estate academic community.

JBCC set up two seminars to accommodate the request. An arrangement was made for the National Association of Realtors to conduct a seminar at their Chicago headquarters for the visitors. Additionally, JBCC arranged for two University of Illinois at Chicago Business School economic and real estate faculty members to provide a presentation to the Chinese banking professionals.

The School of Architecture of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the Tang Committee of the Chicago Committee on High-Rise Buildings designed a graduate level course, Integrated Design and Construction of Buildings, to be taught by industry professionals over a fifteen week term. JBCC was asked to develop the course module for the management, leasing and operation of buildings. John Burns co-teaches this class with a colleague and also serves as a facilitator to recruit other professionals (real estate executives, architects, urban planners) to participate in presentations on practices and projects for course content topics. (See related article.)

BW Phillips LLC and Gardner Carton & Douglas – JBCC as a sub-consultant to BW Phillips provided research on market rental value for various Edgewater Hospital campus properties and supplied comparable rental value information and intelligence as an expert witness for deposition and court testimony.

FC&S Management Inc.and Phelan Pope & John – Co-produced seminar for institutional owners and attorneys on receivership practices for property managers and lawyers involved in emergency situations in high-rise office buildings while operating under circuit court directives. Chicago’s 1993 flood affecting several downtown office buildings provided an intensive case study for examination of various legal and property management issues from conducting emergency procedures, building evacuation, repairs, restoration of infrastructure, re-populating the property, insurance claim and settlement negotiations. JBCC’s president, having been intimately involved in a complex, property-in-receivership (in physical and financial distress) assignment, subsequently co-produced with the court appointed legal team a timely seminar for real estate practitioners and property owners.

LaSalle Street Scholars Program As a member of the LaSalle Street Foundation of the LaSalle Street Council, JBCC’s president developed activities, curriculum, and guidelines for business partners for participating companies (corporate, private and non-profit) for an innovative program which provided groups of ten selected high school students the opportunity to spend a day with a different business firm each day for ten days. Recruited businesses and organizations to participate and provided coaching as needed to those partners.