Commercial real estate firms across Chicago and the broader Midwest are updating leadership teams and expanding their regional footprints, while new industrial development continues to move forward. McHugh Construction has appointed Alec Miller as general counsel, bringing more than 20 years of construction law experience in both in-house and private practice roles. Miller will lead the company’s legal, risk management and compliance functions, with responsibilities that include overseeing financings and transactions, regulatory compliance, labor negotiations, and litigation and dispute resolution.
JLL’s Minneapolis Capital Markets office has promoted Jeff Lepley to senior managing director. Lepley is a member of the firm’s national seniors housing team, where he advises property owners on capitalizing their assets and structuring equity and debt financing solutions. Before joining JLL, he spent six years at Oak Grove Capital, focusing on arranging equity and debt financing solutions for seniors housing owners and operators.
Lee & Associates of Illinois has expanded its brokerage bench with the addition of Marco Federow as a senior associate. Federow began his industrial real estate career in 2020 with MK Asset Management and later served as director and transportation lead at KWILL Real Estate Advisory. His client roster has included Brookfield Properties, DRG, Majestic Auto Glass, Christopher Glass and Aluminum, and Kingfisher Development, reflecting experience across institutional and private-sector assignments.
Nicholas & Associates, the construction management and general contracting arm of Nicholas Family of Companies, is extending its reach with plans to open Nicholas East, the firm’s fourth U.S. office, in Indiana. The company has hired Mark Garrison as vice president of Nicholas East to support the expansion of its construction footprint in the state. The team is currently scouting office locations in Westfield, Ind., described as a suburb of Indianapolis, as it sets up the new regional base.
On the industrial development front, Peak Construction Corporation has been awarded NorthPoint Development’s 90 & Randall Logistics Park – Building 4, located at Interstate 90 and Randall Road in Algonquin. The 428,900-square-foot speculative cross-dock warehouse facility is planned with a 40-foot clear height, 44 dock doors, four drive-in doors, 104 trailer stalls and 277 car parking spaces. Peak is working alongside architect studioNorth and civil engineer Atwell on the project.
In the data center segment, JLL has added and advanced senior leaders focused on facilities and operations. The firm hired Brandon Keesee as managing director of hyperscale and colocation data centers, with responsibilities that include driving growth strategies, strengthening client relationships and leading teams that deliver facilities management solutions. JLL also promoted Michael Martin to managing director of data center operations, giving him executive responsibility for data center operations across colocation, enterprise and hyperscale portfolios, including oversight of operational culture and performance.
