Today we’d like to introduce you to Steve Doyle.
Steve, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I’ve been in the real estate business for 30+ years, and I felt it was time to put together something fresh. I’ve worked in numerous facets of the real estate and construction industries. I’ve held different positions at a large general contractor, a privately held REIT and a merchant-build organization before starting Structured.
Structured Real Estate came together out of industry relationships I’ve had with people in the design and construction worlds for many years. They wanted to get into the real estate business, and I wanted to have my own platform, so after a couple-year discussion with several partners, Structured Real Estate was born in August 2015.
In the summer of 2016, I brought on two more people to help grow the company and help me with the day-to-day aspects of running a startup.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Starting my own business was something I’d thought about for a long time. Deciding it was the right time to venture off on my own was both thrilling and nerve wracking. For me, it was like a switch went off – I knew it was time! I was alone for about a year before I decided it was time to hire. Hiring two employees was a big deal for me because I needed people who would fit in with the culture I was trying to create and work well with each other.
There are lots of twists and turns on a daily basis. Things change on the drop of a hat in real estate so some days go really smooth and the next not so much. Some deals can take years to progress while others a few months.
No two projects are ever alike – we can’t just copy/paste one project to the next. Say we have a building prototype and are going to be developing a few locations around the country; no deal or project is ever identical. You’re dealing with different land, approval processes, financing, builders, suppliers and so much more. It’s always a challenge! A lot of research goes into finding the best people to work with in each new market to ensure that our projects are always top notch.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
Structured Real Estate is a creative, commercial real estate developer specializing in adaptive reuse & ground up development. Our focus is sports medicine, healthcare, office, multi-use + more. We take on projects across the nation – we’re currently working on some cool projects in Arizona and Texas.
Our project in Arizona is an adaptive reuse building unique to Scottsdale. There’s not a lot of repurposed buildings in that area so it’s very exciting as a developer. The building is a former church that we’re turning into a creative office, retail and restaurant space. You can learn more about it at www.meetinghouse3080.com
In Texas, we’re working on a couple sports-medicine & training facilities. I came from the healthcare world, these projects are my forte & I love working on this type of project. These facilities are ground-up developments – very different from what we’re doing in Arizona.
We strive to be a commercial real estate company that has adapted to today’s workforce. We wear jeans to work, eat lunch at fun places in the West Loop and do group outings together. We have a very relaxed office policy – we work from coffee shops, our kitchen tables or on a patio somewhere on days when we just don’t want to be in an office setting. We are 100% cloud based which enables us to work anywhere we please! This is great when we’re traveling and have to pull over on the side of the road for a conference call – it’s happened more than once!
Contact Info:
- Address: 1046 W Kinzie St Suite 301
- Website: www.structuredrea.com
- Email: info@structuredrea.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/structured.rea
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/structuredrea
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/structured_rea
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/structured-real-estate-chicago
Getting in touch: VoyageChicago is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
