Greg Cecil is counsel in the firm’s Real Estate Practice Group. Prior to joining PFS, Greg served as Senior Counsel at a Blackstone portfolio company, where he led and advised on a broad range of complex commercial real estate matters, including development and redevelopment projects, leasing, acquisitions, dispositions, and property and asset management.
For Greg, a career in commercial real estate was practically written in the blueprints. As a kid in grade school, while others were taking notes, Greg was busy sketching golf courses in his notebooks — which drawings eventually expanded to include golf course resorts and cityscapes. Fast forward to today, and those early drawings have evolved into a passion for guiding clients through the intricate world of commercial real estate transactions and development/redevelopment projects.
Greg has a career spanning private practice at large international and midsize regional law firms, as well as general counsel and in-house roles with institutional investors, REITs, developers, and private equity firms. He brings a unique blend of high-stakes transactional experience and business acumen to representing clients in acquiring, selling, developing, and leasing Industrial, Retail, Office, Mixed-use, and Multifamily properties.
As a self-described old-school “dirt lawyer”, Greg has handled nearly every aspect of working with a piece of land, from initial due diligence, navigating zoning, permitting, and regulatory compliance, securing approvals and incentives, drafting and negotiating construction contracts and key project/deal documents, to managing and completing projects across all asset classes.
Greg is known for delivering a practical, solutions-oriented approach; he enjoys being “part of the team”, helping his clients accomplish strategic objectives and achieve success.
Greg lives in Elmhurst, Illinois with his wife and three children. When not advising clients, closing deals and completing projects on time and on budget, Greg enjoys spending time with his family, cheering on his kids at games and competitions, traveling, working out, playing an occasional round of golf (poorly, but always fun and entertaining), and watching the Chicago Bulls, Chicago Cubs and his beloved Kentucky Wildcats.
