Howard Wedren
Founder and Managing Principal
Howard Wedren founded Dayton Street Partners in 2006 as a niche commercial real estate investment and development firm based in Chicago, Illinois. The company’s focus on the acquisition and development of infill industrial and office properties included the development of the city of Chicago’s first speculative industrial 100,000 square foot building at 815 West Pershing and the redevelopment of the 50,000 square foot 920 West Pershing Road project.
Since then, Dayton Street Partners has evolved into a national investor and developer of infill industrial and logistics properties with over $500 million in assets under management.
Howard guides the overall direction and leadership of the company and is responsible for sourcing new acquisitions, development projects and capital partner relationships.
Wedren began his commercial real estate career in 1994 after joining Fifield Realty Corporation as an associate. Within two years was promoted to Vice President and Principal of the organization. During that time, he was actively involved the development and leasing of over 2,000,000 square feet of class A office buildings in the Chicago Metropolitan Area, including the build to suit of the Quaker Oats headquarters building, 550 West Washington, Windy Point of Schaumburg and The Civic Opera Building.
Prior to founding Dayton Street Partners, Howard was principal with Chicago based Montero Partners, Ltd., a commercial real estate investment firm. Howard’s primary focus at Montero included identifying and underwriting value-add acquisitions as well as fostering broker relationships.
He lives in Lincoln Park with his wife and two children and is involved in various industry and charitable organizations, including NAIOP, REIA and the Rolfe Pancreatic Cancer Foundation.
Michael Schack
Principal
Michael has more than 35 years of real estate experience and has been involved in over $4 billion of sale/acquisition transactions and over $2 billion of lease transactions.
Along with Howard, Michael has overseen the growth of Dayton Street Partners and is responsible for asset management, dispositions and securing debt. Michael also helps guide Dayton Street Partners developments and oversees the Company’s operations.
Prior to joining Dayton Street,, Michael was the Senior Director and head of the Chicago Office for American Realty Advisors, an investment advisory firm of institutional real estate. At ARA, Michael focused on asset management overseeing a portfolio of assets and a team of asset managers responsible for initially handling all dispositions for ARA. Michael was a rotational member of the Investment Committee for the firm.
Before ARA, Michael was at First Industrial Realty Trust as an Investment Officer in the Dispositions Group. Michael and his group were responsible for over $1 billion in sales of over 140 assets averaging approximately ten transactions a quarter.
Prior to joining First Industrial, Michael was Vice President of Asset Management for Prentiss Properties’ Midwest portfolio. He was responsible for overseeing the financial performance of a 4 million square foot office portfolio and a 3.5 million square foot industrial portfolio. Michael also handled all dispositions for the Midwest and reviewed acquisition opportunities, including performing due diligence.
Michael came to Prentiss Properties from MetLife’s Real Estate Investments. Michael’s responsibilities at MetLife included dispositions, acquisitions, financing, loan restructuring, development, and asset management. Select properties which were overseen by Michael included Corporate Woods in Overland Park, Kansas, Metropolitan Square in St. Louis, and Sears Tower (now Willis Tower) in Chicago. Michael was a director of asset management and led a team of asset managers with a combined portfolio value of approximately one billion dollars.
Michael holds a bachelor’s degree in Finance from the University of Illinois-Urbana and a Masters degree in Real Estate Appraisal and Investment Analysis from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Michael is a licensed llinois Managing Broker an a member of ULI, Council Member of NAIOP and member of AIRE in Chicago.
Joe Moriarty
managing director, acquisitions
Joe is a Managing Director focused on acquisitions and development. He leads the firm’s acquisition efforts for ground-up industrial development in Atlanta, Savannah and the greater Southeast, while also focusing on opportunities throughout Chicago and the Midwest. Prior to joining Dayton Street Partners, Joe worked in the Capital Markets Group at JLL on the office investment sales team.
Joe began his career in 2013 with a joint venture of GE Capital Real Estate where he worked on GE’s Midwest and West Coast office portfolio. Joe graduated with a degree in finance from the University of Kansas and is an avid Jayhawks basketball fan. Joe is an active member of NAIOP’s Chicago Chapter and volunteers with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metropolitan Chicago.
Adam Seyfarth
director, asset management
Adam is a Director responsible for the day-to-day oversight of Dayton Street’s existing portfolio of buildings and development opportunities.
Prior to joining DSP, Adam worked as an asset manager and acquisitions associate, focused on the Midwest, for Equus Capital Partners. During his time at Equus, Adam managed over 2 million square feet of office properties and was involved in over $400 million of sale/acquisition transactions. He also led the acquisition underwriting efforts for industrial product in the Midwest.
Adam graduated with a bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois - Urbana Champaign and an MBA with a concentration in Real Estate Finance from DePaul University. He lives with his wife and son in Downers Grove where he is an avid golfer and Chicago sports fan.
Mike Magee
director, construction and development
Mike is a Director of Construction and Development and is responsible for the oversight of Dayton Street’s local and national construction projects as well as assisting with their acquisition and leasing pursuits.
Mike joined us with nearly 20 years of construction and real estate experience. Prior to DSP, he worked as a Development Manager at NorthPoint Development where he helped build and lease over 5.2 million square feet of Class A industrial space in the Northeast and Midwest.
Mike graduated with a bachelor's degree in Architectural from the University of Illinois at Chicago, and now lives in Park Ridge with his wife and two young sons. Mike enjoys playing golf, platform tennis and fiddling around the yard.
Emily Wuensch
Project Manager
Emily is a Project Manager responsible for assisting Dayton Street Partner’s Development & Construction Team with the management of various projects from the early stages of design to project completion.
Prior to joining Dayton Street Partners, Emily began her career with Lendlease, an international real estate and investment group. While at Lendlease, Emily worked with their Chicago Integrated Team on two residential high rise projects: The Porte Apartments and The Reed at Southbank. On these teams, Emily was responsible for the procurement of various scopes of work and management of those trades during construction. She was also the lead for various project management operations during construction such as cost management, sustainability management, project closeout, and document control.
Emily graduated with a degree in Civil Engineering from Purdue University with a structural concentration. She is originally from Indianapolis and enjoys running, reading and traveling.
Brandon Shanklin
associate, acquisitions
Brandon is an Associate responsible for underwriting and sourcing industrial real estate acquisitions and land for development opportunities. Prior to joining Dayton Street Partners, Brandon began his career as an Associate at Heitman where he worked on their open-ended debt fund CREDIT where he focused on Asset Management and Fund Operations.
Brandon graduated with a degree in finance from Marquette University and was a product of their AIM program. Brandon is an active mentor of Marquette REALM Program and volunteers with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metropolitan Chicago.
Dina Jarrett
Property and Office manager
Dina is the Property Manager responsible for the day-to-day maintenance of Dayton Street’s existing portfolio of buildings. She is also is in charge of DSP’s office management.
Prior to joining Dayton Street, Dina worked as Property/Office Manager for Loft Development, a commercial real estate firm, which owned/operated office properties in the City of Chicago. Dina has been in real estate for almost 20 years, starting her career as an Executive Assistant with MCL Companies, a real estate developer.
Dina attended Lewis University, and lives in Chicago with her small daughter.
Danielle Maciejewski
CONTROLLER
Danielle is the Controller and is responsible for all of Dayton Street’s day to day accounting functions and all financial reporting. Prior to joining Dayton Street, Danielle was the Controller at Metra, the Chicago commuter rail system serving the City of Chicago and surrounding suburbs.
Danielle brings more than 20 years of executive level financial experience to Dayton Street. Previously, Danielle was a Vice President Finance and Accounting at Villa Capital Partners, a Chicago real estate firm with an emphasis on residential multi-family real estate. A significant portion of that time spent also includes working for commercial real estate entities such as Fritz Duda Company, Pritzker Realty Group and Opus North Corporation.
Danielle holds a bachelor’s degree in public accounting from Loyola University of Chicago and is a Certified Public Accountant.
Daniel Ziegelman
associate, asset management
Danny is an Associate focused on operations and asset management for Dayton Street's industrial portfolio. Prior to joining Dayton Street, Danny worked at Anthology Senior Living, where he was an Asset Management Analyst for a portfolio of Class A independent living, assisted living, and memory care communities across the United States. He was responsible for optimizing asset performance by driving strategic revenue generation, expense management, and expanding operating margin to increase value and returns for institutional investors. He has experience in dispositions, recapitalizations, acquisitions, portfolio performance analysis, physical plant improvements, and asset/facility tours. Danny began his career at the University of Chicago Office of Investments, where he was responsible for investment operations for an approximately $11.5 Billion Endowment.
Danny graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Cognitive Science from the University of Michigan, where he was part of the Michigan Real Estate Club and Club Baseball team.
Violeta Mihaylov
assisant controller
Violeta is the Assistant Controller and is responsible for Dayton Street’s accounting functions and financial reporting. Prior to joining Dayton Street, Violeta was Senior Development Cost Accountant at Equity Residential, a company that owns and operate apartments building across United States.
Violeta brings 10 years of public accounting experience to Dayton Street, with significant understanding of Real Estate Development and Construction accounting. She is proficient in handling financial transactions, analyzing financial data, preparing financial statements, and ensuring compliance with accounting standards and regulations.
Violeta graduated with a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Northeastern Illinois University and she was part of the International Business Conference Planning Committee at NEIU.