In 1990, I was featured in the centerfold of Crain’s Chicago Business after selling Augustana Hospital on Armitage. At the time, it felt like a defining professional milestone, one of those moments that validates the risk of betting on yourself early in your career. Little did I know it would be something that changed my life professionally and personally…
I was only two years into the business. The Augustana sale was a major project, an $18 million transaction that required over a year of work, neighborhood committee presentations, and zoning approvals. It wasn’t just a sale; it was a full-scale development process, and it exposed me to a completely different level of real estate.
That one deal changed everything. It was the beginning of a lifelong love affair with real estate and the impact it can have on communities and people’s lives.
The exposure from Crain’s put me in a whole new league. Doors opened. I sold apartment buildings, a golf course, and larger commercial assets. It shifted the trajectory of my career and gave me the confidence that I could do anything in this industry.
When you successfully navigate a project of that scale, it raises your confidence, your performance, and your expectations of yourself. In many ways, that deal was the foundation of everything that followed.
And then, unexpectedly, it changed my personal life too.
The morning after the Crain’s issue came out, I was at East Bank Club when a man stopped me and asked, “Are you Millie Rosenbloom?”
I assumed he recognized me from real estate. Instead, he told me he was a lawyer, not in the industry at all, but that he had seen me in the magazine. We chatted briefly. I thought it was a polite conversation, nothing more, and that he probably wasn’t interested.
That night, I mentioned to my mother that I’d met a cute man at the club. She smiled and told me to go back the next morning. So I did.
We saw each other again, went on a date that week, and we’ve been together ever since.
What began as a career milestone became something far more meaningful; a chance encounter that led me to the love of my life.
Looking back, that centerfold represents more than recognition. It represents a time in my life driven by momentum, confidence, and the beginning of something much bigger. Careers are built on relationships, visibility, and courage, but sometimes, they’re also built on serendipity.
For me, a magazine feature was just the beginning.
