Realtors Open Downtown Evanston Office At Site Of Shuttered GNC

EVANSTON, IL — A Chicago-based real estate services company opened its fifth location Tuesday in Evanston.

Located in a space formerly occupied by the bankrupt vitamin and nutritional supplement retailer GNC, Fulton Grace Realty's new offices at 812 Davis St. are the firm's first in the suburbs.

“Expanding out of Chicago has been a goal of mine, and Evanston is the place to do it," said T.J. Rubin, the company's president and founder, announcing the opening. "We’re a serious player in Chicago, and we’re going to be a serious player in Evanston."

Founded in 2009, Fulton Grace offers sales, rental and property management services.

After opening its first office in Lakeview in 2012, it added a second location in West Town in 2015, a third in North Center in 2017, and a fourth in Wicker Park in 2019.

“As an experienced local agent," broker John Ruckdaeschel said in a statement, "I feel excited and honored to begin welcoming clients into Fulton Grace's new Evanston office, in a community I've been committed to for over 25 years”

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The former tenant at the site, GNC, closed last year after company officials filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. It was one of dozens of Evanston businesses that closed during the first months of the coronavirus pandemic.

Over the past five years, Fulton Grace has grown at a rate of more than 484 percent and now includes nearly 50 employees, according to Crain's Chicago Business. Last year, the firm generated $18.9 million in revenue and was profitable.