One cannot help but notice the bright light of hope that is beginning to shine throughout Chicago’s South Side. The beautiful Englewood Square Shopping Center, with national retailers including Starbucks and Chipotle in Chicago’s Englewood Community; Blue Cross Blue Shield Customer Care Center in Morgan Park; and in Woodlawn, the new and improved Jewel-Osco , along with a full-service Friend Health Center. This and much more is the work of DL3 Realty.
Leon I. Walker inherited his love of real estate at a very young age, when as a toddler, his parents looked for childcare that couldn’t be found. So, they built a childcare facility of their own, and then another, effectively becoming real estate developers. At the age of thirteen, Leon put on his first hard hat, and after that his fate was sealed. After Leon graduated from the University of Chicago with a Master’s in Business Administration and a Juris Doctorate, he spent years working for global banking and commercial real estate firms, but his first love was the communities on the South Side of Chicago. So he returned to the neighborhood to pursue his life’s work of improving equity and access through community-focused commercial real estate development.
Leon has transformed a family-owned venture that started more than thirty years ago into one of the most prominent Black-owned development firms in the region. The team that now comprises DL3 Realty is known throughout the city for the magic they make, changing boarded up and shuttered places with garbage-strewn streets into liveable, walkable communities with state-of-the-art buildings, more jobs, and less crime. Today, DL3 Realty is recognized citywide and nationally as a 21st Century development company that’s changing the face of a city, one project at a time.
As managing principal of the DL3 team, Mr. Walker is passionate about the community projects the team has developed and before he’ll tell you the number of apartments they have built, or the number of retailers they have brought, he’ll first talk about the number of jobs his team has helped bring to the communities. That’s because he cares about the people in the communities first and foremost. “When the communities succeed, we all succeed,” is his mantra.
His care and concern for the communities of Chicago’s South Side is apparent in his vision, which has become his mission “To help create 10,000 jobs and 10 million square feet of new commercial space in Chicago’s neighborhoods over the next10 years.” His projects are so much more than mere bricks and mortar because his focus is always primarily on the economic prospects and quality of life his work will provide for local residents.
With all the time and commitment Mr. Walker puts into revitalizing Chicago’s South Side, he still has time to serve on many boards and to pursue his passion to bring other minorities into the real estate development arena. To this end he and co-
Today, DL3 Realty is recognized
citywide and nationally as a 21st
Century development company
that’s changing the face of a city, one project at a time.
founders, Gwendolyn Hatten Butler and Graham Grady created the Chicago Emerging Minority Developers Initiative (CEMDI) with the stated mission of sourcing and building a pipeline of community-focused developers from African American, Latinx and other minority communities to participate in commercial real estate development projects city-wide, including projects prioritized by City of Chicago’s INVEST South/West initiative.
Mr. Walker brings to DL3 an impressive team of dedicated men and women, such as Ryan Christopher Green, the firm’s Chief Investment and Administrative Officer.
As a seasoned executive and advisor with more than 15 years of experience in law and commercial real estate transactions, Ryan has successfully negotiated and advised clients on commercial transactions totaling more than $20 billion. Overseeing DL3’s strategic initiatives, legal affairs, asset management, marketing, and government relations, Ryan is a key partner in executing Leon’s development vision. And Mr. Walker adds, “He does it very well.”
As Director of Partnerships and Residential Investments, Tania Kadakia’s extensive housing finance background, which includes $500 million in equity syndications and $350 million in lending, as well as her previous development experience, such as management for a $140 million mixed-use and mixed finance development project, makes her more than well-qualified to do what she does, which is taking the lead in building and implementing DL3’s residential development strategy. Tania is currently overseeing more than $100 million of the firm’s housing investments.
Since 2015, as Director of Acquisitions and Development, Alex Sparhawk has been doing a yeoman’s job in the financial structuring, design, entitlement, construction, marketing, and disposition of all DL3 projects. Currently he’s making sure that more than $100 million of DL3 Realty’s strategic investments are doing what they are designed to do, which is revitalize underserved urban communities and provide economic opportunities for local residents and legacy businesses. He’s also responsible for evaluating potential real estate development projects and working with community partners and service providers to source new opportunities.
Right up there with his team are the valuable professional relationships DL3 has established over the years. One example is the Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago (NHS), headed up by Anthony Simpkins, who is just as passionate about the residents in local communities as he is. Another relationship that he treasures is the Chicago Family Health Center. Mr. Walker said he found that relationship even more invaluable when Sherry Pace, CEO of Chicago Family Health Center, agreed to partner with DL3 as a part of the Thrive Exchange proposal for Mayor Lightfoot’s INVEST South/West initiative. “Having the Chicago Family Health Center as a partner contributed greatly to Thrive Exchange being awarded the project,” said Mr. Walker.
The other important member in the Thrive Exchange partnership is Revere Properties, headed up by Lee Reid. “Lee’s vast experience in architecture, general contracting, as well as real estate and housing makes him an invaluable addition to the partnership,” said Mr. Walker.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot promised to revitalize Chicago’s South and West Side communities through her INVEST South/West initiative, and DL3’s experience and track record in developing Chicago communities shows they can help her live up to that promise in the South Shore community, not only by bringing jobs to the communities, but also by bringing in retailers.
DL3’s efforts to revitalize the Englewood community with its Englewood Square development, brought in a Whole Foods, Starbucks and Chipotle, among other national, regional and local retailers, to an area that was once a virtual food desert, creating 50,000 square feet of mixed-used space.
In Chicago’s Woodlawn area, the newly developed, awardwinning Jewel-Osco, the first full-service grocery story in 40 years in that community, provided 48,000 square feet and expanded food access. Additionally, Phase I of the newly completed Friend Health campus created 42,000 square feet of mixed-use medical space.
DL3’s reimagined Washington Park Bank Building at the corner of 63rd Street and Cottage Grove, will bring approximately 72,000 square feet of mixed-used office and retail space to the Woodlawn area.
We look forward to DL3 and its impressive team bringing yet another community success to the South Side of Chicago and keeping the promise of a revitalized South Shore community.
The DL3’s newly constructed Friend Health Campus & Health Center.
