J.R. Berger

Berger oversees one of Chicago’s most prolific developers, and he’s not yet 40. 

He comes from a long line of Chicago real estate owners, growing up in the Gold Coast as the fourth generation of his family to work in the industry. Despite that background, he didn’t initially set out to join the real estate business.

After returning to Chicago from college in 2009, Berger joined Magellan Development Group, the firm co-founded by his maternal grandfather, the late James Loewenberg, in an entry-level role.

The company’s influence is most visible in Lakeshore East, a multi-decade redevelopment that transformed a crucial stretch of downtown Chicago’s waterfront into a dense residential and mixed-use neighborhood that includes the St. Regis Chicago, the 101-story tower designed by Jeanne Gang.

“When we bought [Lake Shore East], it was the golf course and a couple legacy buildings,” Berger said. “It’s one thing to put a vision on paper, and it’s a whole other thing to see it executed 20 years later.”

Under Berger’s watch, Magellan delivered more than a dozen towers in the district, including 340 on the Park and Coast at Lakeshore East, in addition to the St. Regis.

While he’s known for executing large, design-forward projects, the firm now faces a slower high-rise pipeline amid rising costs and tighter capital. Berger has increasingly emphasized phased development and balance-sheet discipline as market conditions shift.

Across its portfolio, Magellan has completed more than $8 billion in projects and built over 11,000 residential units nat