Any story about Chicago real estate is incomplete without a chapter on The Habitat Company, so it's only fitting that we launch this blog about our city's homes and communities with an interview with the company's president and CEO, Mark Segal.
Since 1971, Habitat has built more than 17,000 condos, townhomes, and apartments across Chicago, including the units at the iconic Presidential Towers high-rise development in the West Loop. Today, the company manages approximately 23,000 residences in Chicago and throughout the Midwest.
Last Friday, Joe Zekas and I met Mark at his River North office, which looks out onto two key Habitat developments: the East Bank Club and Kingsbury Plaza. Mark joined Habitat as a general counsel in the early 2000s and in February 2009 stepped into the company's top spot following the departure of Valerie Jarrett, who now serves as Barack Obama's senior advisor.
Our hour-long conversation with Mark covered a broad range of topics, from the history of Habitat and its founder, Dan Levin, to the company's role as receiver for the Chicago Housing Authority's Plan for Transformation communities.
In the first two segments from our conversation -- seen above and below -- Mark talks about the challenge of filling the shoes of Chicago icons like Levin and Jarrett, and about the differences in public perception and reality regarding Habitat's history of residential development and modern role as both developer and property manager.
You can watch every segment of our interview with Mark on the YoChicago YouTube Channel.
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Tags: Chicago history, Condos, Mark Segal, Property management, Real estate business, Rentals, The Habitat Company, Video
