CHICAGO—After a life in which for decades he influenced and taught many people in the world of commercial real estate, J. Leonard Caldeira recently passed away at the age of 71 following a battle with cancer. He was managing director of JLL's industrial services team and headed its land services group. Caldeira had a 23-year career at LaSalle Partners, the forerunner of JLL, and founded its Chicago industrial brokerage team in 1992. He then held leadership positions with Cushman & Wakefield and Staubach, which was acquired by JLL in 2008.

“He was one of the great professionals, not just in our company, but also in the industry,” Daniel T. Ryan, Midwest market director for JLL, tells GlobeSt.com. “Len stood out, because he was a giver, not a taker,” who felt that his many achievements in business would mean more if he shared his hard-won knowledge with others.

In 2010 he completed a two-year term as education council director for the SIOR Foundation, one of the many positions he held during his long career that made him known to many as a mentor. He served as the 1998 president of the Chicago chapter of SIOR and from 1999 to 2001 was a regional vice president of the national group and member of its board of directors. A board member of NAIOP for 10 years, he also served as the 1991 president of the Chicago chapter and was recently named to the Midwest Commercial Real Estate Hall of Fame.

“He mentored so many students, educating them about commercial real estate and getting them interested in joining the industry,” Ryan says. “And he continued to do that for people who had been part of the industry for a long time.” When in 2010 he received NAIOP's Award for Excellence for his lifetime achievements “he talked about his mother and how she taught him that service was important. Pay it forward. That's the way Len lived his life.”

During his first 16 years at LaSalle Partners, Caldeira was responsible for land evaluations, acquisitions, dispositions and advisory assignments in the central US. He has completed significant assignments on behalf of corporations such as Zurich Insurance, Hollister, IBM, Illinois Bell, Ameritech, R.R. Donnelley, the Tribune Co., Prudential Insurance, Rexnord and WGN Continental Broadcasting. Over his 33 years of land brokerage, Caldeira completed transactions in 17 states which included more than 6,000 acres of disposition and acquisition activity in the Chicago area.

“Len was also a very proud veteran” who served in the US Army in Vietnam, Ryan adds. “One of the most important days of the year to Len was Veteran's Day,” and he did a lot to help his colleagues appreciate just how much the day means.

After Vietnam, Caldeira began his real estate career in New York City with Wm A. White & Sons. He joined the Chicago office of Cushman & Wakefield in 1971, specializing in office leasing and remained there until his departure for LaSalle Partners. He had a bachelor's degree in government from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

“He was always the first one to show up at a Halloween party in costume,” Ryan also remembers. “He was truly a great spirit, and he taught us quite a lot.”

A memorial service and mass will be held at St. Alphonsus Catholic Church, 1429 W. Wellington Ave. in Chicago, on September 19, at 11am, with a celebration of his life to follow.

Memorial donations can be made to Bear Necessities Pediatric Cancer Foundation.