Chicago/Midwest People & Company News, week of May 8, 2026

McHugh Construction has hired Alec Miller as its general counsel. A seasoned construction attorney with more than 20 years of experience across in-house and private practice roles, Miller will lead the firm’s legal, risk management and compliance functions. In his new role, Miller will oversee financings and transactions, regulatory compliance, labor negotiations, and litigation and dispute resolution.

JLL’s Minneapolis Capital Markets office announced Jeff Lepley has been promoted to senior managing director. He is part of the national seniors housing team and advises owners on capitalizing their properties and executing equity and debt financing solutions. Lepley joined JLL after serving for six years at Oak Grove Capital, arranging equity and debt financing solutions for owners and operators.

Lee & Associates of Illinois announced that Marco Federow has joined the firm as a senior associate. Federow began his industrial real estate career in 2020 with MK Asset Management, followed by a role as director and transportation lead at KWILL Real Estate Advisory. His notable clients include Brookfield Properties, DRG, Majestic Auto Glass, Christopher Glass and Aluminum and Kingfisher Development.

Nicholas & Associates, the construction management and general contracting arm of Nicholas Family of Companies, will be opening its fourth U.S. office, Nicholas East, in Indiana. The company has hired Mark Garrison as vice president of Nicholas East to help expand its construction footprint in the state and is currently scouting office sites in Westfield, Ind., a suburb of Indianapolis.

Peak Construction Corporation has been awarded NorthPoint Development’s 90 & Randall Logistics Park – Building 4 at Interstate 90 and Randall Road in Algonquin. The 428,900-square-foot speculative cross-dock warehouse facility will feature a 40’ clear height, 44 dock doors, four drive-in doors, 104 trailer stalls and 277 car spaces. Peak is teamed with Architect studioNorth and Civil Engineer Atwell.

JLL has hired Brandon Keesee as managing director of hyperscale and colocation data centers and promoted Michael Martin to managing director of data center operations. Keesee will be responsible for driving growth strategies, fostering strong client relationships and leading teams to deliver FM solutions, while Martin will provide executive leadership for data center operations across colocation, enterprise and hyperscale portfolios, with accountability for operational culture and performance.