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	Excerpt from "The hands-on developers shaping Chicago" New Homes 02/1999 On his first assignment for his first job, Tom Roszak found himself in an Evanston field with a degree in architecture from IIT, a cellular phone and the assurance that a general superintendent would follow in two weeks. Some two years later, the superintendent still absent, he completed supervision of a 118-unit apartment complex, on time and on budget. Twenty-three years old and running a $15 million project, Roszak, you could say, cut his teeth on every aspect of development. "Optima, Inc. is a very innovative company and they gave me a lot of experience and hands-on training," he says. "I learned a lot from them, and at the time it was invaluable." They also gave him greater control over a variety of ever-larger projects across the North Shore. Over the next several years, with Optima and later with Focus Development, he was able to try his hand at all development operations, from architecture and design to financing, property management and marketing. So, having established an impressive and in-depth career, it was only natural that in 1996 he broke away to build his own firm, at the ripe old age of 30. And he wanted to keep his hands in all aspects of the development. "Being an architect in itself isn't all that exciting," he says. "I had grown to like the control of being a developer and contractor as well." His firm Roszak/ADC, LLC (the ADC stands for architecture, development and construction), initially focused on north suburban projects but soon made the move into the city. "The North Shore market has been pretty steady since the mid-'80's, so it was a safe bet," he says. "But the city's massive transformation over the past five years created an opportunity that couldn't be ignored." Roszak, with his six-person shop, plans to do about $10 million worth of development in 1999 by focusing on the residential development that makes up the bulk of his experience. Two of his current projects demonstrate both his feel for the city and his feel for the marketplace. His traditionally inspired six-unit condominium property in West DePaul at 2135-37 N. Southport has proved popular in both design and location. Completion of the project is scheduled for April or early May and already four of the units have been sold. Only two of the four 1,675-square-foot duplexed units remain priced from $335,000 to $350,000. His project at 1519 N. Mohawk, a five-story elevator building, is a little more daring but no less successful. The 40-foot wide building offers one 2,850-square-foot, three-bedroom unit per floor. A 30-foot by 30-foot living room, formal dining room and family room makes these units seem like an entire house on one level. Indeed, Roszak saw it as something of a gamble, but with single-family houses with the same amount of space starting around $700,000 he decided to take the chance. "You don't see too many buildings like this, and I really didn't know if buyers would rather opt for a townhome," he says. "but in the city there seems to be people to fill all the market segments." Four of the five units have been sold, leaving only the 3,500-square-foot duplexed pent house unit, priced at $675,000. Roszak's next project is a 12-story, 72-unit condominium building with 5,500 square feet of first floor office and retail space at Michigan Avenue and 16th Street. That is a big step for his new company, but nothing he doesn't have plenty of experience with. His strategy is to keep the company lean and flexible by outsourcing some of the pieces of the development puzzle, like land acquisition, financing and marketing. "Our six-person office can seem much larger because we leverage the expertise of other companies and stay flexible," he says. "We can rev up or scale down as circumstances require, so there's no limit to what we can do." Roszak/ADC 1415 Sherman Avenue Suite 101 Evanston, IL 60201 Main  847-425-7555 Sales  847-328-8200 Fax  847-425-7540 email inquiries: info@roszakadc.com copyright© 2003 Roszak/ADC. All rights reserved.