Movers: Dream Town snags Christopher Stephens from Jameson Sotheby’s

One of Chicago’s most well-known boutique residential brokerages is making a suburban push after recruiting a Jameson Sotheby’s executive to lead the charge, Waterton has a new general counsel and JLL picked up a leasing agent from Sterling Bay.

Here’s more on Windy City real estate career moves.

➤ Christopher Stephens is joining Yuval Degani’s Dream Town Real Estate to steer the Chicago-based brokerage’s expansion into the suburbs, leaving Jameson Sotheby’s after nearly seven years as a managing broker of its Evanston and Hoffman Estates offices.

Stephens will be returning to the dealmaking and sales side of the business after previously focusing on coaching and agent development with Sotheby’s. He’ll operate out of a Libertyville office Dream Town is set to open as a hub of its suburban operations.

Stephens lives in Libertyville, which he said is going through a market shift drawing buyers from the city and pushing up home prices in recent years.

His jump comes a year after another former Jameson agent, Steven Johnson, departed the brokerage for Baird & Warner’s Gold Coast office in Chicago.

➤ Chicago-based Cresa is hungry for Jeffrey J. Counsell’s clients and years of experience guiding tenants in the food, ingredient and nutrition sectors.

Counsell’s Global Food Properties, which he co-founded, has been merged with tenant-focused brokerage Cresa, according to its President Greg Schementi. Counsell joins as a principal.

With the addition, Cresa claimed it became the only commercial real estate firm with a dedicated practice for food, ingredient, and nutrition manufacturing and research and development clients.

Counsell launched Global Food Properties in 2015 after stints at CBRE and Trammell Crow Company.

“Continued margin compression, the necessity of automation and increasing regulatory pressures create an uncertain landscape,” Counsell said. “Cresa’s occupier focus creates an obvious and exciting path forward for our expertise and global clients.”

Global Food’s Adam Ratajski will also become a vice president at Cresa, and will track data and market availability, business development, and deal execution.

The merger follows four other acquisitions Cresa has made in the last 18 months, the firm said. In Texas, Cresa expanded its Dallas footprint by picking up esrp as well as Austin, with the acquisition of Elevate Growth Partners. Cresa also acquired Axiom Advisory Group in Detroit, and Vicus Partners in New York City.

➤ Chicago-based apartments giant Waterton has a new top lawyer.

The landlord, one of the nation’s largest by units owned, hired attorney Erick Harris, who was previously general counsel for Chicago-based real estate firm Blue Vista Capital Management.

Harris’ role will be spearheading transaction closings, managing due diligence for mergers and acquisitions and directing corporate insurance programs.

“Erick’s extensive experience in … institutional LP engagement makes him an invaluable asset to Waterton,” said CEO and chairman David Schwartz. “His leadership qualities combined with a deep understanding of tax structuring for LP investments and experience with flagship funds and separate accounts align with our strategic vision.”

➤ JLL snagged leasing specialist Daniella Hemsley from Chicago-based developer Sterling Bay.

Hemsley was previously a vice president of leasing for Sterling Bay for the last two years, and worked on deals that brought four new biotech startups — including Cyclopure and EVOQ Therapeutics — to the developer’s lab-oriented office building at 2430 North Halsted Street in Lincoln Park.

Her title with JLL will be vice president.

Editor’s note: The spelling of Yuval Degani’s surname has been corrected.

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