08/12/2007

Urban Innovations, Chicago Based Real Estate Company, Honored Nationally as One of the 25 Best Small Companies to Work For in America For Second Year in a Row.

Urban Innovations, a Chicago based real estate investment company has once again been named among the top 25 Best Small Companies to Work for in America. The list was announced on June 25th before an audience of more than 15,000 at the Society for Human Resource Management's (SHRM) 59th Annual Conference & Exposition in Las Vegas.

The list is sponsored by SHRM and selected and ranked by the Great Place to Work® Institute (GPTW.) Urban Innovations ranked number 21 in the list. The results were based on a randomly distributed employee opinion survey. Each company evaluated was given a score based on employees' responses to a detailed questionnaire about the organizations' workplace cultures.

“Urban Innovations is thrilled to be recognized by SHRM and GPTW as a Great Place to Work for a 2nd consecutive year” said Mark Kelly, President & CEO of Urban Innovations. “After being honored last year, Urban Innovations is even more focused on the tremendous business successes that occur when the powerful relationship between an organization and its workforce is in alignment. As our company continues to grow we are constantly making sure that our core values are intact and upheld and that the quality of the workplace and the employees’ work experience remains a positive one. Make no mistake this is a challenge, but success will continue to yield a level of prosperity that far exceeds corporate profit.”

Scott Zatt, Director of Human Resources for Urban Innovations said, “We listen carefully to our employees and with the full support of ownership we provide a productive workplace that allows for work-life balance.”

“Small and medium-sized companies make up the majority of the American economy and workforce," said SHRM President and CEO Susan R. Meisinger, SPHR. "These winning organizations demonstrate that making effective use of the workforce is key to their success, and their accomplishments deserve recognition."

Great Place to Work® Institute cofounder, Robert Levering, said, "These companies stand out because their employees find them to be places where they can trust the management, have pride in their work and have fun. Other companies have much to learn about how to be productive and do right by their people."

SHRM is the world’s largest association devoted to human resource management. Representing more than 210,000 individual members, the Society’s mission is to serve human resource management professionals and to advance the profession. Founded in 1948, SHRM currently has more than 550 affiliated chapters and members in more than 100 countries.

Great Place to Work® Institute, Inc. is an international research and consulting firm dedicated to building great workplaces. Great Place to Work® Institute uses its employee survey and assessment process to select the companies appearing on the annual "Best Small & Medium Companies to Work For in America" list and FORTUNE's 100 Best Companies to Work For® list. In addition to its global headquarters in San Francisco, Great Place to Work® Institute has 29 affiliates in countries throughout North America, South America, Europe and Asia. www.greatplacetowork.com.

Urban Innovations is a 27 year-old real estate investment company with its headquarters in Chicago. The company currently employs just over 100 employees in various locations. Urban Innovations acquires properties for our investors, redevelops the properties with our in-house construction group and manages the properties with our in-house property management group. Our current portfolio consists of 9 commercial loft buildings in Chicago’s River North area and 19 affordable senior housing properties throughout the Midwest.

Stories about the winning organizations will appear in the July issue of HR Magazine, the Society's flagship publication with a circulation of 210,000 (available at www.shrm.org/hrmagazine). The winning organizations will also be listed on the GPTW web site at www.greatplacetowork.com.

For more information about Urban Innovations contact Scott Zatt, Strategic Planning and Human Resources Director, Urban Innovations, 312-970-3269, scott@urbaninnovations.com. Visit our website at www.urbaninnovations.com.

For more information about the Top 50 Best Small & Medium Companies to Work for in America Awards contact SHRM Media Affairs at 703-535-6356.