RE/MAX has opened an office in downtown Chicago that is exclusively focused on commercial real estate. It is the first all-commercial RE/MAX office in the Chicago area.

RE/MAX Commercial Real Estate Services, located at 120 N. LaSalle St., has been established by John O’Hara and Chuck Nunley, who also operate RE/MAX Gateway in Gilberts, and Gateway Properties of Illinois LLC, a real estate development firm based in Lake in the Hills.

For RE/MAX, the new Chicago office is an important step in its expansion into the commercial real estate field. RE/MAX now has all-commercial offices in each of the major metropolitan areas of the United States, according Jim Merrion, regional director of RE/MAX Northern Illinois.

In addition, 256 RE/MAX offices around the world have divisions that deal exclusively in commercial property. Worldwide, RE/MAX has more than 6,800 agents who specialize in commercial property and has expanded its commercial property transactions from approximately $5 billion in 2002 to $13.5 billion in 2006, an increase of more than 150 percent.

In northern Illinois, RE/MAX closed $412 million in commercial transactions in 2007.