Donald Shoemaker

Don Shoemaker is the co-founder and a partner of Franklin Partners, LLC, a commercial real estate firm founded in 1995 and headquartered in Oak Brook, Illinois. He has been an active owner, investor, manager, and broker in the U.S. real estate industry for more than 25 years. Within the firm, he is primarily responsible for developing and implementing the firm's investment strategy and for sourcing and acquiring investment assets.

Before co-founding Franklin Partners, Shoemaker worked as a commercial real estate broker at CBRE and held earlier positions at Royal LePage. Over the course of his career he has overseen the acquisition and repositioning of numerous commercial assets and has been involved in the management of a large portfolio spanning industrial, office, and retail property.

Franklin Partners has impacted more than 50 million square feet of development, property management, and new construction since its founding, with a portfolio concentrated across Illinois, Missouri, Michigan, and Ohio. The firm specializes in renovating and revitalizing underused or distressed commercial properties, and Shoemaker's focus on office and industrial value-add deals sits at the center of that strategy. In 2025 he was recognized by Crain's Grand Rapids Business in its M&A Awards for his dealmaking activity.

• Acquires and repositions office and industrial commercial real estate, and is "open to other value-add property types as well."
• Pursues a value-add / opportunistic strategy — buying underutilized, mismanaged, or distressed assets and revitalizing them, rather than passive core holdings.
• Increasingly active in distressed debt and note purchases on Chicago-area office buildings, often via joint ventures (e.g., with Bixby).
• Geographically disciplined around the Midwest (IL, MI, MO, OH) where the firm has operating depth and local relationships.
• Focus on strategy and acquisitions specifically — Shoemaker's stated role is developing firm strategy and sourcing investment assets.