A: Cementing a board of Lee retail brokers from around the country to lead the charge. There is a lot of effort that's required to keep this wonderful momentum and growth moving, and we will with the discipline and resolve within our company. We have national calls open to our 100 professionals around the country where we exchange ideas, leads, market intel, and trends. Some wonderful initiatives have come out of our calls and we will put a team in place to help drill down on some of these items in the months and years to come.

Q: What is Lee's national outreach in retail CRE?

A: Lee tends to get seasoned brokers that bring years of experience with them. They often come from other national firms, due to our platform that allows them to keep significantly more of their earnings than any other national company. With that experience they often bring a string of respected broker/client relationships that they have developed through their CRE careers. In addition, our brokers in our national network are able to reach out to their Lee partners in other offices and tap into an existing relationship.

Q: Since you are based in Chicago, you obviously have a connection to the Midwest CRE retail. What are you encouraged by in this sector? And worries you?

A: Since 2012, the general volume of activity has continued to increase, and I'm hoping this trend continues. Some very nice infill and long awaited projects are taking shape, so all in all I'm more encouraged than discouraged. As far as what worries me is the misperception Illinois receives by some outside of the region. That needs to change. For example, we have a pro-business governor who came into office three months ago that is attempting to shake things up in Springfield that is a step in the right direction. And while it will be long and arduous for many, I believe we are moving in the right direction towards attrition rather than a shrinking retail and tax/job base.

Q: As you know, Los Angeles and Long Beach are embroiled in a dock strike. Will that have any impact in Midwest retail?

A: It all eventually has its trickle down with delays in parts and products. No different than how crop freezes in Florida and California effect our orange juice and produce quality and prices. Nothing we haven't dealt with before.

Q: Are there any surprises you are seeing in Illinois?

A: No not really. Nice to see housing continuing to come back. The City of Chicago in many respects is still on fire, and I'm hoping that more of that can spread to Metro Chicago. The city still has its problems but the construction cranes and the vitality of these neighborhoods will keep the positive vibe strong for years to come as Google, 1871, the West Loop, and other stories of city surge continue to outweigh the negative news that the media seems to lead with.

Q: What single event will have the biggest impact on CRE in retail?

A: How about two? Sustained lower fuel costs, and positive steps in Springfield with politicians reaching across the aisle to make the tough decisions and concessions to move the needle in a positive path.