Recognize value.
Protect your position.

Understand the asset, identify the right counterparties, and negotiate from a stronger position. We support investment purchases and sales from initial valuation through closing.

• Property and market analysis
• Targeted buyer and seller outreach
• Deal positioning, diligence, and negotiation

The Paladin approach +

THE PALADIN APPROACH

Recognize value. Protect the outcome.

Lacuna called for a strategy that understood office income, event space, coworking, parking, and land together. The seller also valued a buyer who could steward its community. Price and client priorities belonged in the same decision.

LACUNA / RECOGNIZING THE WHOLE ASSET

Earlier industry estimates*~$17M

Completed sale · 2019$25M

$0$25M

$8M above the earlier estimate

*John’s recollection of earlier market estimates, not a formal appraisal. The sale price is supported by published coverage. This comparison is not an investment return or a promise of future results.

Define the investment or sale strategy

Paladin connects the property’s income, condition, location, and potential with your objectives. For buyers, this means identifying what an acquisition must deliver. For sellers, it means understanding which buyers are best suited to the opportunity and how to position it.

Look beyond the headline price

Lease obligations, capital needs, financing dependencies, contingencies, and closing certainty can materially affect a transaction. Paladin helps organize these considerations and establish negotiation priorities.

Coordinate the path to closing

Align buyer and seller expectations, diligence requests, lenders, attorneys, and other advisors so unresolved issues receive attention.

Decisions we help you work through

• Does the asset fit your investment goals and available resources?
• Which terms matter most alongside price?
• What could affect diligence or closing certainty?

Explore relevant experience

Lacuna · $25M investment saleACCESS Medical · healthcare investment sale

Related episode from the Show Me How archive

Inside Commercial Deal: Anatomy, Pitfalls, and Real Path to Ownership (opens in a new tab)

Before we speak

The property address, ownership objectives, rent roll, available operating statements, and desired timing. Bring what you have; complete documentation is not required for an initial conversation.

Discuss an acquisition or sale

Align the location and lease structure with the business. We help tenants evaluate sites and landlords position space for suitable occupiers.

• Site selection and demographic analysis
• Financial modeling and lease comparisons
• Retail, restaurant, hospitality, and fitness requirements
• Specialized space needs and proposed buildout terms

The Paladin approach +

THE PALADIN APPROACH

A lease must work for the business.

At Windy City Boxing, the operating requirements mattered: ventilation, equipment, access, and how the space would be delivered. Paladin turns those details into questions and negotiation priorities before an attractive space becomes a costly commitment.

Start with the business

A suitable space must support how the business operates: customers, employees, equipment, deliveries, accessibility, parking, and future growth. Paladin helps translate those needs into a focused site search.

Compare the complete occupancy cost

Evaluate base rent alongside operating expenses, proposed improvements, maintenance responsibilities, renewal provisions, and other obligations. Compare spaces on their overall fit and economics.

Translate requirements into negotiations

Connect the tenant’s operating needs with proposed landlord delivery conditions, improvement responsibilities, and lease terms. Coordinate legal and technical review where needed.

Decisions we help you work through

• Which requirements are essential and which are flexible?
• What will occupancy and proposed improvements cost together?
• Who is responsible for delivering and maintaining the space?

Explore relevant experience

Windy City Boxing · specialized space and protective lease planningExplore The Astor Club location strategy

Related episode from the Show Me How archive

How to Lease Your First Commercial Space (opens in a new tab)

Before we speak

Your preferred area, space requirements, budget, current lease expiration, and essential operating needs. Bring what you have; complete documentation is not required for an initial conversation.

Discuss a leasing requirement

Evaluate current performance, future potential, and the practical choices available. Broker opinions of value and portfolio analysis support decisions to hold, improve, refinance, or sell.

• Broker opinions of value
• Asset and portfolio analysis
• Value creation and repositioning strategy

The Paladin approach +

THE PALADIN APPROACH

Read past the rent headline.

A medical-office investment brings tenant operations, improvement costs, recurring income, debt, and transfer requirements into one decision. Paladin works through the connections so an owner can assess the economic position with greater clarity.

SEE THE WHOLE FINANCIAL STRUCTURE

One property. Several layers to understand.

1. Lease incomeBase rent, improvement-related rent, and other charges.
2. Operating obligationsExpense responsibility, reimbursements, and reserves.
3. Debt & transferLoan terms, lender consent, and the obligations that follow a sale.
4. Closing certaintyEstoppels, diligence, approvals, and the final funds flow.

An underwriting framework informed by the historical ACCESS Medical engagement. Evaluate each layer against the property’s current documents.

Understand what drives value

Examine income quality, lease structure, vacancy, expenses, property condition, market evidence, and future capital needs. Paladin connects those factors with the decisions you need to make.

Compare your choices

Holding, improving, leasing, repositioning, or selling can produce different tradeoffs. Paladin helps assess these alternatives against your goals, timing, and available resources.

Separate potential from assumptions

Distinguish current performance from improvements that depend on investment, tenant changes, approvals, or market conditions. Broker opinions of value support decisions; formal appraisal and tax advice come from the appropriate professionals.

Decisions we help you work through

• What supports the current value and what could change it?
• How much capital or time would an improvement strategy require?
• Does holding or selling better serve your objectives?

Explore relevant experience

ACCESS Medical · lease and investment considerations2854 W. Armitage · residential and retail income

Related episode from the Show Me How archive

Commercial Real Estate Unlocked: A Beginner’s Guide to Commercial Real Estate (opens in a new tab)

Before we speak

Operating statements, leases, capital expenditure history, and your current priorities. Bring what you have; complete documentation is not required for an initial conversation.

Discuss an asset or portfolio

Identify what a site could become and what it takes to get there. We evaluate redevelopment paths, zoning considerations, and opportunities for joint ventures and public incentives.

• Land and redevelopment positioning
• Zoning and transit oriented development analysis
• Development partner and incentive coordination

The Paladin approach +

THE PALADIN APPROACH

A concept needs a path to execution.

The 2747 N. Lincoln work considered zoning, access, parking, and approval-dependent capacity. Paladin tests what must be true for a development scenario to become achievable.

Evaluate the site’s practical potential

Consider location, access, existing use, zoning, development capacity, parking, and the surrounding market. Paladin helps connect a proposed use with the property’s commercial opportunity.

Identify the dependencies

A promising concept may depend on approvals, infrastructure, financing, technical findings, or development partners. Bring those dependencies into the strategy before treating a potential use as an achievable result.

Position the opportunity for suitable partners

Present the site’s potential alongside its constraints so developers and buyers can assess it meaningfully. Coordinate with qualified planning, design, engineering, and legal professionals as needed.

Decisions we help you work through

• Which uses appear commercially promising?
• What technical findings or approvals would they depend on?
• Which development partners are suited to the opportunity?

Explore relevant experience

2747 N. Lincoln · redevelopment analysisThe Astor Club · City property acquisition support

Before we speak

The address or parcel information, surveys and studies if available, intended use, and any prior approval discussions. Bring what you have; complete documentation is not required for an initial conversation.

Discuss a development opportunity

Consider the business and its real estate together. We help owners and buyers assess business value, transaction structure, and the role of the underlying property.

• Business acquisition and sale strategy
• Business pricing and transaction analysis
• Transactions with a real estate component

The Paladin approach +

THE PALADIN APPROACH

Connect the concept with the operating model.

Morgan Arts Complex illustrates the connection between a creative venue’s positioning, its commercial terms, and the requirements for opening. John helped with the name and concept and negotiated event-use arrangements. A signed opportunity still depends on delivery and approvals.

Explore relevant experience

Morgan Arts Complex · positioning, commercial terms, and execution risk

Consider the enterprise and property together

A business’s location, lease, facilities, and ownership structure can affect both its value and its suitability for a buyer. Paladin brings the business and real estate perspectives into the same discussion.

Clarify transaction priorities

Help owners and buyers evaluate the relationship between business economics, real estate, transition requirements, and negotiation objectives. Establish what needs to transfer and which conditions matter to the parties.

Coordinate specialist diligence

Work alongside attorneys, accountants, and other advisors to address financial, legal, and operational questions. Connect their findings with the commercial terms and practical transition requirements.

Decisions we help you work through

• How does the property or lease affect the business opportunity?
• What needs to transfer for the buyer to operate successfully?
• Which diligence questions should be resolved before committing?

Before we speak

A description of the business, ownership objectives, the property or lease arrangement, and available financial information. Bring what you have; complete documentation is not required for an initial conversation.

Discuss a business transaction

Bring the right expertise to complex decisions. Paladin coordinates with specialized professionals on tax incentive analysis, cost segregation, exchange planning, and property insurance referrals.

• TIF and historic tax credit opportunities
• 1031 exchange and cost segregation specialists
• Referrals to licensed public adjusters

Tax, legal, architectural, and public adjusting services are performed by appropriately qualified professionals. John H. Scuras does not act as an Illinois licensed public adjuster.

The Paladin approach +

THE PALADIN APPROACH

Put the right knowledge around the decision.

Paladin coordinates specialist findings with the commercial strategy. The goal is to recognize dependencies early, give advisors useful information, and understand how their conclusions affect your choices.

Identify questions that require specialist input

Exchange planning, cost segregation, historic rehabilitation incentives, and other programs can influence a property decision. Paladin helps identify the questions that should be evaluated alongside the commercial opportunity.

Bring specialists in at the useful stage

Connect the opportunity with the information and timing qualified advisors need to assess it. Early coordination can help clients understand requirements before making transaction or project commitments.

Integrate findings into the transaction

Eligibility, deadlines, documentation, costs, and advisor conclusions should inform the strategy. Tax, legal, architectural, and public-adjusting services remain with appropriately qualified professionals; eligibility and outcomes depend on their review.

Decisions we help you work through

• Which programs or specialist reviews may be relevant?
• What information and timing do advisors need?
• How would their findings affect the transaction or project?

Before we speak

The property, planned work or transaction, timing, and advisors already involved. Bring what you have; complete documentation is not required for an initial conversation.

Discuss a specialized need

Specialized real estate advisory for battery energy storage systems (BESS) and solar farms. We help landowners and energy developers connect site potential with acquisition strategy, commercial terms, and the development process.

• Land sourcing, site positioning, and transaction strategy
• Purchase and lease negotiations aligned with development milestones
• Coordination with developers, municipalities, and technical specialists

Glenwood solar project experience includes transaction coordination, municipal engagement, and diligence planning around interconnection and approval milestones.

The Paladin approach +

Land potentialSolar use

These photographs show different Illinois locations. They illustrate land-use choices and are not a before-and-after record of the Glenwood project.

STEWARDSHIP IS PART OF THE DECISION

Protect the landowner.
Plan for the land’s future.

Energy development should be evaluated against the landowner’s goals, the site’s character, and a credible path to operation. Soil and drainage, neighbor impacts, responsibility for restoration, and decommissioning security belong in the conversation.

Where feasible, pollinator habitat or compatible agriculture can be considered alongside solar. Grid resilience depends on engineering, interconnection, and the right system design—including storage where appropriate.

Explore the evidence: DOE · solar and agriculture (opens in a new tab) · DOE · solar and resilience (opens in a new tab).

Connect land with development requirements

Evaluate the commercial opportunity alongside site access, proposed use, developer needs, and technical diligence. Paladin helps landowners and developers connect their objectives with a real estate strategy.

Align terms with project milestones

Purchase and lease discussions should account for the time and conditions associated with feasibility, interconnection, and approvals. Structure negotiation priorities around the project’s real dependencies.

Coordinate stakeholders

Help landowners, developers, municipalities, and technical specialists understand the decisions that affect the real estate transaction. Engineering, interconnection studies, and approval determinations remain with the responsible specialists and authorities.

Decisions we help you work through

• What must be established before the developer can proceed?
• How should commercial terms address feasibility and approval timing?
• Which stakeholders need to be involved at each stage?

Explore relevant experience

Glenwood · project coordination and land stewardship

Before we speak

Parcel information, acreage, ownership status, existing studies, developer discussions, and proposed transaction timing. Bring what you have; complete documentation is not required for an initial conversation.

Discuss a BESS or solar opportunity

Unlocking value often depends on navigating the process as well as understanding the property. Our experience includes City of Chicago property acquisition support, Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) procurement, zoning strategy, and coordination of the stakeholders and requirements that shape feasibility.

• City-owned property acquisition support
• CHA procurement process navigation
• Zoning, land use, and development requirements
• Aligning site strategy, business objectives, and public sector processes

The Paladin approach +

THE PALADIN APPROACH

Protect the purpose through the process.

A public-property opportunity has two tests: whether it suits the client’s objective and whether the acquisition path supports that use. Paladin brings submission requirements, diligence, use restrictions, and timing into the strategy.

Understand the process before committing

Public-sector acquisitions and procurement can involve documentation, eligibility, evaluation criteria, deadlines, and approvals. Paladin helps organize the requirements relevant to the opportunity.

Connect the process with your business objective

Bring commercial requirements and stakeholder coordination together so the acquisition or procurement path supports the proposed use. Keep business feasibility and process requirements in view at the same time.

Identify constraints early

Zoning, land use, acquisition conditions, and agency requirements can influence feasibility and timing. Coordinate the questions and professional input needed to assess the opportunity; approvals and awards remain decisions of the responsible authorities.

Decisions we help you work through

• What is the required submission or acquisition process?
• Which conditions could affect the intended use?
• Which deadlines, reviews, or approvals shape the timeline?

Explore relevant experience

The Astor Club · hospitality location strategy425 W. Jackson · former municipal facility

Before we speak

The property or solicitation details, intended use, deadlines, and communications already received. Bring what you have; complete documentation is not required for an initial conversation.

Discuss a complex property strategy