MARC REALTY: A HISTORY

Sol Weiner and his eldest son Elliot founded Marc Realty in 1976 in a small basement office in a turn-of-the-century greystone on the Near North Side of Chicago. As native Chicagoans they felt their deep knowledge and understanding of the city coupled with their real estate skills and experience would enable them to build a successful realty firm. They took the entrepreneurial plunge. And, in time, they earned a reputation for hard work, commitment, honesty, and the ability to find excellent value for their clients.

In 1982, Sol's younger son Laurence Weiner joined the family business. As a lawyer and CPA, Larry began to handle the Company's legal issues, including negotiating leasing contracts and other transactions. At about that same time, Marc Realty assumed its first leasing and management assignment for a 26-story commercial office building in Chicago. In 1983, the Company took another step forward when it converted a Chicago residential condominium to office space. As it gained valuable experience in tenant improvement and renovation, the Company began to build its in-house construction staff.

In 1987, Marc Realty purchased its first office building. After winning an important third-party leasing and management assignment at 223 W. Jackson (the historic Brooks Building) in 1988, Marc Realty acquired the Company's first significant piece of real estate at 1100 Lake Street in Oak Park, Illinois. “Its significance stems from the fact that this was the first time Marc Realty was working as a fully integrated commercial real estate company,” says principal Laurence Weiner. ”From managing to leasing to overseeing the multi-million dollar redesign and renovation of the property, Marc Realty handled it all, end to end. It set the standard for how we would move forward.”

The acquisition and massive renovation of that property put Marc Realty on a track to become one of the largest and fastest growing full-service owner/managers in Chicago. At that time, Gerald Nudo, a prominent Chicago-based mortgage banker, began working with the Company and developed a strategic business plan to acquire, renovate and operate well-located commercial properties in Chicago and the suburbs. Marc Realty had found its niche and within the next few years, it experienced explosive growth: two significant properties were acquired in 1992, and six more addresses were added to its growing portfolio three years later. During the 1990s, Marc Realty built its portfolio with office buildings that would be attractive to small business owners, non-profit organizations and other price-conscious businesses.

The principals acquired buildings where they saw the opportunity to undertake major renovation and modernization projects while still keeping rent levels affordable, including the acquisition of many landmark buildings and architecturally significant structures. By the turn of the century, Marc Realty had emerged as a major player in Chicago's vibrant commercial real estate market.

Marc Realty has come a long way from its roots as a two-person business in the basement of a century-old greystone. The Company now employs 300 people and its portfolio has grown to more than 40 buildings with more than 10 million square feet of commercial office space in Chicago and the suburbs. Sol Weiner passed away in 2002, but the principal owners remain Elliot Weiner, Laurence Weiner and Gerald Nudo. The Company remains committed to its founding principles of giving tenants value and service, and helping them find the right space and the right fit at the right price.