January 6, 2015 – He was only supposed to be an “interim” property manager, brought in when the previous manager was fired, but William O’Leary (left) stayed for almost two years. O’Leary’s resignation was announced to residents of Marina City in December. His last day on the job was December 26.

He is still an assistant vice president with DK Condo, a community association management company owned by Draper & Kramer, Inc. According to Marina Towers Condominium Association, O’Leary “accepted a new challenge with another DK Condo managed building.”

“Being part of Marina Towers, an internationally known iconic property, is something that most property managers dream of but for me it became a reality,” O’Leary wrote in a note to residents published in the condo association’s January newsletter. “I will always have the fondest of memories of my time at Marina Towers Condominium Association.”

O’Leary was a main point of contact for Nik Wallenda, Discovery, and NBCUniversal during a year of planning that led to the November 2 high-wire stunt, an event that netted Marina City international fame and its condo association $86,500 in fees. O’Leary represented Marina City in such nuts-and-bolts negotiations as equipment specifications, elevator loads, and how the association would be reimbursed for expenses.

(Right) Professional daredevil Nik Wallenda (center) poses with MTCA president Ellen Chessick (left) and residential property manager William O’Leary (right) on October 30, 2014, at Leo Burnett Building.

Lobby renovation project led to management of entire 896-unit community

William O’Leary replaced David Gantt, who had been residential property manager since October 2003. When Gantt resigned on March 4, 2013, the plan was for O’Leary, who was then overseeing a lobby renovation project at Marina City, to serve as interim manager while Marina Towers Condominium Association searched for a replacement.

Gantt’s resignation was likely influenced by cost overruns of the renovation project, which O’Leary had managed since late January 2013, a few weeks after construction started. It was O’Leary who broke the news to the condo association in June 2013 that the project was 25 to 40 percent over-budget.

According to MTCA President Ellen Chessick, the project went over budget because many items needed for the new lobbies – such as seating, tables, rugs, and artwork – were not included in the budget or specifications given to contractors.

On July 18, 2013, MTCA decided O’Leary was who they were looking for and hired him as full-time property manager. His first day was August 1, 2013.

O’Leary, a Certified Property Manager and licensed real estate broker, has been with DK Condo since 2010. For 15 years he was president of Invsco Management Company, managing condo conversion projects across the United States. He was president of Apartment Building Owners and Managers Association, a not-for-profit organization that serves the residential property industry in Chicago, president of Lincoln Park Builders of Chicago, an honorary society of real estate professionals, and president of 415 Condominium Association, a condo building that overlooks Belmont Harbor.

A new property manager, Shannon Grealy, was approved by MTCA on December 18, 2014. She starts at Marina City on January 19. Grealy is currently manager for South Commons Phase I Condominium Association, a 679-unit property at 3001 South Michigan Avenue.

(Photo) William O’Leary, far right, accepts a Leadership Award from the Chicago chapter of the Institute of Real Estate Management on March 7, 2014. (Click on image to view larger version.)