Rick Frey, Broker, Kunkel Commercial Group Inc., O’Fallon

   Rick Frey is a licensed broker who joined Kunkel Commercial Group Inc. in 2009. He has more than 25 years of experience in business development and marketing. Frey is an Illinois native, raised in Highland and currently living in Maryville. His territory lies primarily in Madison County with an emphasis on Edwardsville, Glen Carbon and Collinsville.
   The majority of Frey’s transactions stem from restaurants, retail and office buildings. There has been a lot of movement in the restaurant sector in the Metro East lately, says Frey. He recently facilitated the sale of the Innkeeper’s Restaurant in Hamel to the owner of Weezy’s Bar and Grill, also located in Hamel. The new owner plans to convert the space into a pizza parlor, which is due to open by the end of 2013.
   In the office sector, Frey is co-brokering the purchase or lease of a 164,000-square-foot, Class A office building with CBRE. Located at 7650 Magna Dr. in Belleville, Frey says it is strategically positioned next to Interstates 64/255, with direct frontage off of Illinois Rte. 15. Designed and occupied by Regions Bank as its former area operations center, it is equipped with flexible floor plans and above-standard infrastructure.
   Frey is also working with a regional quick-lube company to sell several of its properties in Central and Southern Illinois, as well as with a 14-acre winery in the Metro East that will soon be available for purchase.
   Legacy Place, an assisted living facility developed by Kunkel Commercial Group president Dave Kunkel, is breaking ground in October in Breese, its third location in the region.
   According to Frey, commercial real estate activity overall in Southwestern Illinois has significantly  improved in 2013 with increased interest from both tenants and buyers. KCG has also been working with more investment property owners who want to market their properties.