Keen-Summit Capital Partners and its parent company, Summit Investment Management LLC, have opened a joint office in Chicago to expand their participation in distressed asset management in the Midwest.

“Our business is enjoying tremendous growth there,” said Keen managing director Harold Baldwin. “The pandemic has created an urgent need for the expertise we offer in real estate workouts, lease restructurings, and real estate dispositions.”

Hired to run the Chicago office was David Levy, who spent 13 years at NRC Realty and was a VP responsible for structured and sealed-bid sales and auctions. For the past eight years he has been active with the American Bankruptcy Institute, serving as its Real Estate Committee co-chair.

“I have long admired Keen for its technical expertise and proven abilities to handle wide-ranging assignments nationwide,” Levy said. “And Summit offers a unique understanding of underlying asset values.”

Levy is one of fewer than 50 professionals in the United States to hold both the Certified Commercial Investment Member and Certified Auctioneers Institute designations.