Cross Street Folds Peak Properties Into Residential Business

A pair of Chicago real estate firms are making it official.

Cross Street incorporated Peak Properties into its national business, formalizing a longstanding partnership and adding more property management to its expanding residential brokerage and development business, according to a press release.

Peak, which manages more than 9,000 units across Chicago neighborhoods, will continue operating locally under its own name. Behind the scenes, however, Cross Street plans to leverage Peak’s systems and infrastructure to launch a management business targeting mid-rise and high-rise multifamily complexes across the country, according to the release.

The move swells Cross Street’s leasing and management portfolio to nearly 12,000 apartments across Chicago, Denver and Cleveland, giving the firm more scale in a sector where size and operational efficiency increasingly matter.

Cross Street President Shane Rachman called the combination “cross-pollination.” He called the move both a change in operational control of the businesses, as well as a blend of both a merger and acquisition, though he declined to share any price related to incorporating Peak Properties into Cross Street.

The structure is a dual-brand approach: Peak remains a standalone name in Chicago, while both companies will operate on the same back end. That should create efficiencies and cost savings for clients, Rachman said. Cross Street would not have been able to provide management services Peak provides prior to the merger, he added, and the incorporation will allow Cross Street to scale beyond just the Chicagoland area.

Peak founder Mike Zucker launched the company nearly 30 years ago from the basement of a North Side building. He will remain on the board and continue working in local management, business development and investor relations, according to the release.

The deal also cements a family succession story. Rachman is Zucker’s nephew and started his real estate career at Peak before launching Cross Street, interning for Zucker beginning at age 16. Zucker credited Rachman with playing an integral role in growing Peak over the years and said bringing the firm under the Cross Street umbrella ensures continuity for existing clients without disrupting day-to-day operations, according to the release. Cross Street has grown rapidly in recent years, with more than 40 brokers and leasing agents now a part of the firm.