Michael Zaransky’s Blog
Preserving the Past, while Facing the Future
The Wrigley Building, one of Chicago’s iconic structures, dates back to the early 1920s, when William Wrigley Jr. settled on a site along Michigan Avenue, hard by the Chicago River, for the headquarters of his chewing-gum empire. It has loomed over the city’s skyline ever [...]
The Local Watering Hole: Neighborhood Anchor or Lodestone?
At their best, neighborhood bars serve as the social hubs of their neighborhoods -- vibrant places that draw people in and draw them together. At their worst, they are nuisances, producing excessive noise, littering, vandalism, etc. The question, then, is this: What are the pros [...]
Leaving the Family Business to Become An Entrepreneur
Strike out on one’s own, or stick with the status quo? That was the question facing Cobus Visser, a South African and self-described mental strength sports coach and master firewalker. For a very long time he wasn’t sure. He had moved on from the family [...]
Let It Snow, Let It Show: Winterizing Your Repositioned Property
There is some debate as to how Chicago came to be called the Windy City; one theory is that the nickname was first used in reference to its boastful citizenry, another that it came about because of its many bloviating politicians. There is also evidence [...]
Multiple Ways to Add Value to a Multi-Family Building
As I wrote in my 2007 book Purchase, Rehab and Reposition Commercial Investment Property, repositioning multifamily apartment buildings has long been my passion, and has proven to be a pathway to profitability. It’s hard work, as investments go, but it has always been worthwhile. [...]
Starbucks & Stadia: Reading the Neighborhood of Your Investments
In the ultimate case of something old and something new, stadia (which date back to the 13th Century BC) and Starbucks (a coffee company dating back to 1971) can be indicators of neighborhoods that offer abundant opportunity for those looking to reposition real estate. There [...]
