Louis D. D’Angelo
President
Metropolitan Properties of Chicago LLC
Louis D. D’Angelo founded Metropolitan Properties
of Chicago in 1991 when he assumed leadership of his
family’s real estate holdings: Britannica Centre,
at 310 South Michigan Avenue; the 318 South Michigan
Avenue Building; and the 33 East Congress Parkway Building.
During a nation-wide market crisis, he created and implemented
a successful strategy to stabilize the significantly
over-leveraged real estate assets by negotiating with
five mortgagees whose total debt exceeded $70 million.
Ultimately, together with the efforts of his family and
advisors, he accomplished restructurings that allowed
the D’Angelo family to maintain ownership and control
of their properties.
For over a decade, Mr. D’Angelo has envisioned
Michigan Avenue area surrounding Grant Park as a
vibrant 24hour/ 7day a week environment - filled
with office workers, residents, tourists, and students.
Metropolitan Properties earned its reputation as
a visionary leader, capable of executing complex
developments with the 1996 acquisition and redevelopment
of the McCormick Building located at 332 South Michigan
Avenue. The 20 story, 474,000 net rentable square
foot vintage property, was successfully redeveloped
to introduce 78 luxury residential condominiums on
the upper six floors and parking. This challenging
adaptive, mixed-use development has since proven
to be a catalyst for other developments surrounding
the park.
Metropolitan Properties in 1998 was selected
to form the precedent-setting consortium to acquire
and develop the City-owned Congress Parkway and State
Street site because of Mr. D’Angelo’s
knowledge of the South Loop market, his involvement
with the educational institutions, and his understanding
of the nuanced governmental issues confronting a
project. The project opened in August 2004 and is
known as The University Center of Chicago.
Metropolitan
Properties is continuing its efforts to pursue promising
niche development and investment opportunities. Currently,
Metropolitan Properties is once again maximizing
values of vintage properties - 310 & 318 South
Michigan Avenue - by identifying the highest and
best use. These former office properties fronting
the park are being fully converted into 248 luxury
residential condominiums.
In addition to providing
attractive returns to equity investors, the redevelopment
will: ensure that these historic treasures will become
economically viable, thus allowing them to be preserved;
attract more residents to this up-and-coming neighborhood,
and, increase much needed real estate tax revenues
to the government.
Prior to founding Metropolitan Properties, Mr.
D'Angelo attended The University of Chicago Law School,
from which he received his Jurist Doctor degree in
1991. He remains active with his alma mater, serving
on the Visiting Committee and Entrepreneurial Committee
of the law school, as well as a volunteer with the
school’s “Lawyer
as Negotiator” program and as a guest lecturer
about architecture in the University’s undergraduate
program.
Previously, Mr. D'Angelo was employed in the New
York office of Goldman Sachs & Company from 1986-88
as a financial analyst in the Mortgage Securities
Research Department. Mr. D'Angelo analyzed and collected
data regarding Collateral Mortgage Obligations (CMOs)
and other mortgage pass-through and asset-backed
instruments. This information was disseminated to
company clients and traders via weekly and monthly
publications, which he coordinated.
Mr. D’Angelo earned his Bachelor of Arts degree
in 1985 at The George Washington University, in Washington,
D.C. A history major, he interned at the National Trust
for Historic Preservation while attending college.
Mr. D'Angelo is licensed attorney and real estate
broker in the State of Illinois. Born and raised
in the Chicago area, he has a deep concern for civic
issues. Mr. D’Angelo
is the chairman of the Chicago Loop Alliance; a member
of the Board of Directors and chairman of the Facilities
Committee of the Hyde Park Arts Center, where he is heading
an effort to acquire and redevelop a new home for the
arts center (occupancy April 2006); a member of the Board
of Directors of the Michigan Avenue Streetscape Association;
a member of the Executive Committee of the Chicago School
of Real Estate of Roosevelt University; a member of the
Board of Directors of the Grant Park Conservancy; a member
of the Urban Land Institute (ULI); and, a member of the
Building Owners and Managers Association of Chicago (BOMA).
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