Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices expands in Geneva

A residential brokerage team has jumped to Geneva from Wheaton, and Chicago’s commercial real estate firms continue to place more emphasis on hiring in the industrial sector as uncertainty still defines the office market and interest rates challenge multifamily.

Here’s more on recent Chicago-area real estate career moves.

➤ Samantha Bauman and Raul Delgado are leading a push into one of Chicago’s western suburbs for Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Chicago.

Bauman and Delgado’s Move Smarter Team opened a new office in downtown Geneva at 321 Franklin Street, the brokerage said.

They had previously been agents in BHHS’s nearby Wheaton office, where they became partners in 2021. That year, the Move Smarter Team earned the Chairman’s Circle Platinum Award, meaning they placed among the top 1 percent of brokers in the firm’s national network.

“Samantha and Raul have been exceptional agents in our Wheaton office, and we are truly delighted to see them spread their wings and expand to Geneva. It is the perfect fit for them as brokers, and for us as a company,” BHHS President of Brokerage Mark Pasquesi said in a statement.

The move into Geneva allows the team to better serve buyers and sellers in the Tri-City area consisting of St. Charles, Batavia and Geneva.

➤ Since picking up longtime Midwest industrial tenant broker Brian Netzky last year, Chicago commercial real estate investment firm Glenstar has turned harder into the industrial market, and away from its previous office and multifamily focus.

While the firm recently handed the keys to the landmark Chicago Board of Trade office building to lender Apollo Global, it has also forged ahead on a big industrial development in South Carolina.

Alongside Glenstar co-founder Michael Klein, Netzky is leading the firm’s transition into the new industrial projects, which includes last year’s start on a four-building project totaling 818,000 square feet across 72 acres in Fort Myers, Florida, and the spring groundbreaking of a 550,000-square-foot warehouse in Gaffney, South Carolina.

Netzky has a history of representing tenants in the industrial sector, having founded and led Interstate Tenant Advisors for nearly 15 years before selling it to Colliers in 2018.

“We worked with Brian while he was still at Colliers, and he has been instrumental to our success on Tri-County 75, our new industrial park in Fort Myers,” Klein said. “We knew he was exactly who we needed at Glenstar to help grow our industrial portfolio. His unique ‘end-user first’ approach to site selection and development coupled with his deep, nationwide network of brokers and capital partners is an unbeatable combination.”

➤ Chicago-based industrial investment firm ML Realty Partners beefed up its ranks with the addition of Ryan Cullen as assistant development manager, who joined the company from a project engineer job at McShane Construction Company in Rosemont.

“His recent experience with a national construction firm will bring immediate support to ML Realty Partners’ growing development demands,” ML’s Tim Geisler said in a statement.

The firm also promoted Ken Lavand to a senior financial analyst role. He has been with ML since 2017 focused on sharpening its valuation and acquisition processes.

“Ken’s strong financial background has been truly meaningful for our firm,” ML’s Shari Crivello said. “His analytical and forecasting strengths have supported ML Realty Partners in expanding our portfolio of properties while continuing to deliver high levels of care and determination in his work.”