RICHARD D. BARON
Richard Baron is chairman and CEO of St.
Louis-based McCormack Baron Salazar. A
30-year veteran in revitalizing urban communities and a pioneer in housing development, Baron leads the company in restoring neighborhoods in distressed, inner-city
areas across the country. Since the company was launched in 1973, it has developed 146 projects in 35 cities with development costs exceeding $2.4 billion. Projects
encompass more than 16,000 residential
units and 1. 3 million square feet of commercial space. The firm’s
management portfolio includes nearly 13,500 residential units. In
2004, Baron received the Urban Land Institute’s J.C. Nichols Prize
for Visionaries in Urban Development. He serves on the executive
committee of the Regional Chamber and Growth Association and
is on the advisory board for the Center on Urban and Metropolitan
Policy of the Brookings Institution.
ALBERT M. BERRIZ
Albert Berriz is president, CEO, board
member and co-owner of Ann Arbor,
MI-based McKinley Inc., a $4.6-billion
real estate enterprise with more than
300 projects in 25 states. The company’s portfolio consists of more than
34,000 multifamily units and 21 mil-
lion square feet of office and retail
properties supported by 1,600 full-time
employees. Berriz has personally acquired and managed more
than $7 billion in assets during his career, most of which have
been severely distressed assets and major rehabs, renovations
and repositionings. Berriz has been awarded various civic and
professional recognitions, including the National Fundraiser of
the Year by the American Red Cross, Ann Arbor Citizen of the
Year, and the Ernst and Young Master Entrepreneur of the Year.
KENNETH G. BLOCK
As the managing principal of Kansas City,
MO-based Block Real Estate Services
LLC, Ken Block specializes in investment
sales and the development of industrial,
office and business park properties. He
has been involved in the development of
approximately 215 buildings exceeding
$1 billion in value. Block also has represented REITs, pension fund advisors and
insurance companies in the acquisition
and disposition of properties. During his
38-year career, he has been involved in more than $2.5 billion of
property sales and dispositions across all asset classes. Block been a
consultant and/or developer on numerous build-to-suit projects
for national companies, including General Electric, IBM and
Xerox, and he’s currently the managing member of Pine Ridge
Business Park, a $135-million, 223-acre park in Lenexa, KS.
BRUCE BRICKMAN
Bruce Brickman, co-owner and principal of General Development
Co. LLC, based in Southfield, MI, is responsible for the company’s
real estate development and acquisitions, financing, equity and debt
placement, construction management activities and client real estate
consulting needs. With more than 25 years of experience in the commercial and industrial real estate and construction business,
Midwest
Real Estate
ICONS
When talking about Midwest
commercial real estate, Chicago
often steals the spotlight. Yet there
are a great many players active
outside of the Windy City that
have helped to shape the industry
throughout Middle America, and
nationally. Here are some of the
commercial property investors,
developers and operators that are
considered the Midwest’s Icons of
the industry.
By Liz Wolf
