Ron Ruby, Mark Sutherland, Alex Pearsall and Jerry Houlihan, owners of First Chicago Realty Corp., announced that the company is now an independently owned and operated franchise of Weichert Real Estate Affiliates Inc.

Renamed Weichert, Realtors-First Chicago, the firm at 209 W. Ohio St. was founded in 2000 as a boutique company to specialize in new development sales and marketing. Though focusing heavily on development, the partners decided to expand business on the brokerage side.

The grand opening celebration for the first Weichert franchise in Chicago will be announced at a later date. The staff and sales team can be reached at 312.467.9900, or by visiting weichertfirst.com.