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Melissa Ferchill, REAL ESTATE
One of the few female owners of real estate development firms based in Northeast Ohio, Melissa Ferchill is busier with out-of-town projects than local ones. Ferchill, the daughter of Cleveland-based developer John Ferchill, launched MCM Co. two decades ago and believes female-owned firms are more accepted today than in the past. She also argues the evolution of the business may aid female developers. "It's clearly a business that needs a lot of collaboration today," she said. "By the time you finish financing a deal now, there are a lot of cooks in the kitchen." The 10-person MCM Co. also operates in two other parts of the property space, as a development consultant to nonprofits and as an owner's representative. All told, MCM has completed about $250 million in development work and $1.5 billion in work as an owner's representative. As she was growing the business, Ferchill and husband Nick Swingos were raising three sons. Their oldest, 18, is a college freshman; the others, 15 and 12, attend Rocky River public schools. Is work-life balance an issue? "I'm good at compartmentalizing," Ferchill said.
What is the most difficult thing about developing real estate in Cleveland?
It's hard to predict what financial institutions are requiring. A lot of financial institutions also want to be in the historic restoration space now and don't know it very well. There are also big differences between financing offices, apartments and...