About Paladin

John H. Scuras

Managing Director & Founder

John H. Scuras was born and raised in Lincoln Park. Alongside his real estate work, he spent more than 20 years in corporate sales, negotiation and leadership development, joining The TAS Group (now Altify) as a Senior Partner in 2008. He has been with Jameson Commercial since 2018, and in 2019 he was named a Platinum Top Producer for Office Sales Dollar Volume by the Chicago Association of REALTORS® CommercialForum, a year that included the $25 million sale of Lacuna Lofts in Pilsen.

John founded Paladin Real Estate Investment in Chicago in 2001 and still leads every engagement himself. The firm helps owners, investors, business owners and developers buy, sell, lease, value and reposition commercial property, and it connects those decisions with the business behind them.

Experience that shows up at the table

John has served as General Manager, Sales Vice President and Global Account Manager. He has designed negotiation and leadership programs for large corporate organizations. He has also owned, rehabbed and built multi-unit buildings, so he weighs construction, cost and approvals before treating a property’s potential as real.

He holds a B.S. in Political Science from Northern Illinois University and completed DePaul University’s Executives’ Circle Program. He is a licensed Illinois real estate broker and business broker.

What Paladin does

• Investment sales and acquisitions: office, retail, multifamily, mixed-use, medical and land
• Broker Opinions of Value (BOVs) and portfolio strategy
• Leasing and tenant representation
• Development and land strategy: site assembly, zoning and feasibility
• Business brokerage: with the lease, property and transition in view
• Business consulting and executive advisory
• Energy and public-sector work: BESS and solar site control, plus zoning, procurement and incentive coordination

How we work

Price is only part of a deal. Paladin looks at income, use, land, people and obligations together, then tests the dependencies: a signature is not a closing, and a lease is not an opening. Every engagement moves the same way: frame the decision, assess the facts, position the strategy, and execute.

Rooted in Chicago

Paladin works across Chicago, Illinois and the Midwest. The firm knows the city’s neighborhoods and its zoning, regulatory and aldermanic processes, and that knowledge often separates a site’s potential from a deal that actually closes.