John Nelson

John serves as a Vice President with Transwestern’s Downtown Agency Leasing team. As a former Property Manager, he has an in-depth understanding of tenant satisfaction, building functionality, and creating win-win situations for both tenants and owners. John has a genuine enthusiasm for the field. His passion for engaging with people across the real estate community has earned him a strong reputation among many tenant brokers in Chicago. John’s experience and dynamic personality enable him to evaluate spaces from multiple perspectives, leading to innovative and creative approaches to marketing space as well as structuring deals.

John joined Transwestern in 2019 and quickly became an integral member of Transwestern’s Suburban Agency Leasing team before transitioning to his current role with the Downtown Agency Leasing team. Since joining the downtown team, John has represented buildings in a range of submarkets and classes. John prides himself on understanding the goals of his clients, enabling him to effectively transact at his properties. John has spearheaded leasing at Civic Opera, which has been in receivership since October 2021. Despite the building's financial status, John has leased over 100,000 square feet in the past 12 months.

Prior to joining the Transwestern team, John served as a Property Manager at both CBRE and Sterling Bay, providing operational excellence at several downtown Chicago properties.  At CBRE, John managed 300 E. Randolph, the Blue Cross Blue Shield Building in the East Loop, overseeing over 1,845,000 square feet of real estate. During his time at Sterling Bay, John managed a portfolio of assets in the West Loop, including the old Harpo Productions portfolio, 626 W. Jackson, and 311 W. Monroe.

John graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a Bachelor of Science in Business Management. He is a licensed real estate broker in the State of Illinois.