Chicago commercial real estate and property management

The Company

Mission:

To provide superior commercial real estate investment returns to our investors and to distinguish ourselves based on expert analysis; quality service, reporting and management; and unwavering integrity.

History

Formed in 1993, Weybridge Capital Investors is a Chicago-based real estate investment firm specializing in the acquisition and management of commercial real estate. Our primary focus is currently on the acquisition of strip, neighborhood and community shopping centers and retail-focused commercial properties located in the Chicago metropolitan area and throughout the midwest and Colorado where we have considerable market knowledge and expertise. Value added opportunities are preferred.

We will also look at development and redevelopment opportunities in the Chicago or Kansas City metropolitan areas in urban infill areas or in strong suburban markets with continued population growth.

The company's overriding goal is to create value and superior returns for its investors through the ownership, management and enhancement of individual properties. With considerable institutional real estate investment experience, Robert H. Glaze, the principal, saw institutional owners of real estate as too bureaucratic, as not being able to move quickly enough to take advantage of opportunities in fast changing markets and as too inflexible in the way they did business. Glaze also saw many entrepreneurial firms in commercial real estate investment that lack professionalism, competency and honesty.

"To distinguish ourselves, we formed a company that takes the best from the institutional mentality, particularly as it relates to proficiency, detailed analysis and expert management. From the smaller firm, we took the qualities of flexibility and being able to react quickly while maintaining the highest level of integrity," says Glaze. Weybridge surpasses its competition as a result of:

rigorous acquisition and development criteria;
conservative underwriting standards;
expert and detailed quantitative analysis;
a thorough due diligence process;
hands-on management, with attention to both detail and the bottom line;
an annual budgeting and strategic planning process for each property;
superior monthly reporting; and
continued analysis of external market conditions.

Background/Bio

Robert H. Glaze, President

The principal, Robert H. Glaze, has an advanced degree in finance and real estate, as well as considerable institutional real estate investment, analytical and financial experience.

His background includes twenty-eight years of commercial banking and commercial real estate experience. After a seven-year career at The First National Bank of Chicago (now Bank One), covering the national retailing industry, he worked for Prudential Real Estate Investors for eight years. As a general manager, he was responsible for the acquisition and disposition of investment property throughout the Midwest for the company's institutional pension fund clients. He became involved with the day-to-day leasing and management of a number of real estate assets and was involved with the development of two large grocery anchored shopping centers in the Chicago area.

During this period, Glaze completed $40 million in sales and $285 million in acquisitions. In addition to his invaluable experience at Prudential, he has had considerable shopping center leasing and management and development training through New York University, the International Council of Shopping Centers and the Urban Land Institute.

Glaze is a licensed real estate broker in Illinois. He is also an active member of the International Council of Shopping Centers, an associate member of the Urban Land Institute and a member of the Illinois Chapter of the Real Estate Investment Association. In addition, Glaze is a member of the Chicagoland Association of Shopping Center Owners.

Glaze has been, and continues to be personally involved in the ownership of a number of commercial properties totaling 364,000 square feet, including office, medical office, retail and industrial properties, as well as land for future development.

He received a Master of Business Administration degree from the Cox School of Business at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, with an emphasis in finance and real estate. He also attended the Kellogg Management Institute at the J. L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University from September, 1997 through May, 1998.

Glaze is active in numerous civic and charitable organizations, including the Auxiliary Board of the Art Institute of Chicago and the Ravinia Festival Annual Fund. He is also a trustee of Lawrence Hall Youth Services in Chicago, a major child welfare agency, serving on the building and grounds committee which is currently overseeing the building of a new campus..

Michael Sliwicki, Vice President

Michael Sliwicki joined Weybridge Capital Investors in 2003. He has over 12 years real estate and business experience including six years with Prudential Real Estate Investors, where he and Glaze worked together on the acquisitions team. His focus at Weybridge is primarily on market and acquisition research, broker relations, and valuation and property analysis.

Sliwicki received his M.B.A. in International Business from Thunderbird, American Graduate School of International Management in Glendale, AZ in 1995. He earned his B.S. in Finance from Marquette University with a minor in Spanish in 1991. Michael speaks fluent Spanish and has worked, lived, or traveled throughout various countries in the Latin American region and Spain.

Professional Performance Team

Weybridge Capital Investors has assembled an extremely capable team of outside advisors. With the combined expertise of this Professional Performance Team, Weybridge has the management talent and systems to underwrite, acquire, develop, finance, reposition and manage any project and deliver superior performance.

LEGAL

Shefsky & Froelich Ltd.

Shefsky & Froelich's real estate lawyers have broad experience in all areas of real estate practice, including acquiring, selling, leasing, developing, financing, and tax-deferred exchanges of apartment complexes, hotels, land, shopping centers, office buildings, industrial sites, nursing homes and other health care properties. They are continually involved in structuring, forming and counseling partnerships and joint ventures.

Mitchell D. Goldsmith is a principal at Shefsky & Froelich Ltd. He is a 1978 graduate of the University of Chicago Law School (J.D.) and a 1975 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania (B.A., summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa). Goldsmith practices in the corporate and securities areas and represents a broad base of publicly and privately held companies, having been involved in over 200 offerings of debt or equity capital. He has significant experience in real estate finance, representing owners of shopping centers, apartment complexes, office buildings, nursing homes, hotels, raw land, single family homes and other specialty properties.

Kathryn Kovitz Arnold is also with Shefsky & Froelich Ltd. She is a 1990 graduate of Northwestern University School of Law (JD) and a 1987 graduate of the University of Illinois (BA, magna cum laude). Arnold has considerable experience in real estate and specializes in drafting and negotiating leases, drafting contracts for acquisitions and dispositions, and preparing loan documents for asset and real estate loans.

ACCOUNTING

Gleeson, Sklar, Sawyers & Cumpata, LLP.

Gleeson, Sklar, Sawyers & Cumpata LLP is a certified public accounting and management consulting firm. Founded in 1967, it has become Chicago's 16th largest accounting firm, with offices in Chicago, Elgin and Skokie, Illinois.

Timothy J. O'Brien is a partner in the Real Estate and Construction Services Group, based in the Elgin office of Gleeson, Sklar, Sawyers & Cumpata LLP. He has been with the firm since 1996. O'Brien has over 19 years of experience in public accounting with extensive expertise in real estate and construction. His varied real estate and construction accounting experience includes such areas as entity structuring, tax planning, business plans, cost allocation, equity investment analysis and tax cash flow forecasting.

DESIGN AND REDEVELOPMENT

The DePalma Group, Inc.

The DePalma Group, Inc. is a full-service design, architectural and environmental communications firm serving businesses and institutions since 1977. The DePalma group staff includes architects, interior designers, space planners, CAD operators, industrial designers, graphic designers and visual merchandisers. They provide architectural services, graphic identity packages, image analysis and design, industrial design services, feasibility studies, property repositioning, facility management and real estate support services. DePalma Group has won numerous design awards, including an International Council of Shopping Centers Renovation & Expansion Award, and its work has been published in many trade journals.

Elsa S. DePlama, FISP, IIDA, is a principal of the Chicago-based DePalma Group, Inc. With 25 years of experience in retail design and shopping center renovation DePalma directs all of DePalma Group's retail activity. She is a frequent speaker on a variety of subjects related to trends and consumer awareness and their relationship to retail performance.

DePalma is a 1968 graduate of State University of New York. She is a fellow of The Institute of Store Planners, an associate member of the International Council of Shopping Centers, a professional member of the International Interior Design Association and active with Chicago Real Estate Executive Women. She also serves on the Board of Directors of AidsCare, Inc.

MARKETING AND PUBLIC RELATIONS

Treacy Marketing Group

Treacy Marketing Group is a full-service marketing, advertising, public relations and promotions firm headquartered in Chicago. The company Marketing Group develops both short-term and long-term marketing plans and meets a variety of marketing needs for its clients from the strategy and planning stage to the creation and execution of high impact programs.

Beth Treacy began her career in marketing with Leo Burnett. In the mid-80s she moved to real estate marketing, heading up project marketing efforts for both LaSalle Partners and Rubloff. In this capacity, Treacy positioned some of the country's most visible office, retail and mixed-use projects. Her tremendous success led to the formation of Treacy Marketing Group in 1990.

SPECIALIZED TEAMS

In addition to the Professional Performance Team, Weybridge carefully selects an appropriate team of experts with local market expertise for each property it is involved with. With a network of over 1,150 professionals, Weybridge has the ability to choose only the best talent for each unique transaction. This selection process enables Weybridge to evaluate, acquire, manage and sell projects in diverse markets while staying on top of local market conditions. Some of our additional resources include:

Architectural engineers
Roof consultants
Parking lot/traffic consultants
Property tax consultants and attorneys
Environmental engineers and consultants
Property management companies
Leasing professionals
Local legal counsel
Accountants
Mortgage brokers
Investment property brokers
Certified appraisers
General contractors
Insurance and risk management professionals