ttorney, Leon Walker, CEO of DL3 Realty Advisors, works closely with municipalities, anchor institutions, and Fortune 500 companies to execute projects that are sensitive to a neighborhood’s character while creating economic opportunities for local businesses and residents. DL3’s projects are more than just brick and mortar— they are designed to provide a stimulus that ultimately lifts economic prospects and the quality of life in urban communities.
DL3 recently celebrated 25 years in business, and in the past five years, DL3’s projects have created over 3,000 jobs on Chicago’s South Side, and the firm is actively pursuing projects that will create over 10,000 new jobs in Chicago’s neighborhoods by the end of the decade.
DL3 is executing transformative investments at several key transit nodes on the South Side by developing new, luxury affordable, mixed-use anchor housing under the “Thrive” brand that offers both market rate and affordable options for residents. Thrive Exchange and Thrive Englewood are designed to increase walkability and attract additional capital to the surrounding community.
DL3 is the first Black owned private development firm to successfully win and close a City of Chicago 9% low- income housing tax credit award. Recently, DL3 partnered with Riverside and AmTrust RE to convert a portion of the Field Building on LaSalle Street into approximately 400 apartments and 90,000 SF commercial space as part of the City of Chicago's LaSalle Street Investment Initiative.
Prior to taking on the leadership of DL3, Leon worked in corporate real estate services at Jones Lang LaSalle, and in real estate capital markets at Citicorp Securities. He is a graduate of the University of Chicago Law School, Booth School of Business, and received his bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan Ross School of Business. Leon is civically engaged and currently serves on the boards of World Business Chicago and University of Michigan Weiser Center for Real Estate, among many others. He is a frequent speaker and student of historic architecture and lives with his wife, Rian, and their two children in a prominent office-to-residential conversion in downtown Chicago.
