Mike Drew

A former general contractor, Drew built his career on projects where execution mattered as much as vision, often navigating tight sites, zoning shifts and neighborhood opposition.

Drew is best known for dense urban infill and adaptive reuse projects that helped remake the Clybourn Corridor and parts of the Near North Side.

Since launching Structured Development in 2002 with partner Daniel Lukas, Drew has overseen more than 2 million square feet of development across residential, mixed-use and public-sector work. That includes renovations to City Hall’s lobby and CTA stations, as well as private projects that converted former industrial land into housing at scale. Wendelin Park, one of the firm’s most ambitious efforts, blended affordable condos, luxury apartments and co-living units around a newly created public park.

In recent years, Drew has remained active even as Structured winds down. In 2024, he bought a North Side office building for $10.5 million with plans to convert it to housing, a contrarian bet on small-format office at a time when larger downtown assets were struggling. He has also been tied to refinancing activity in the multifamily market, including a $135 million loan arranged by Rialto to recapitalize the housing project he developed with partners at 1475 North Kingsbury Street.

Drew has been candid about the political and financial headwinds facing Chicago development, warning that taxes, approvals and public safety concerns have made timing harder to get right. With Structured closing its doors, his recent deals suggest a pivot toward selective ownership rather than ground-up risk, closing a chapter on one of the city’s defining infill developers.