Operating platform
Bluebird owns the buildings. Summit Real Estate Services, our affiliated operator, finds, leases and manages them. Summit does the same work for families and private investors who own industrial buildings across the Midwest.
Summit Real Estate Services
A buy-side brokerage and property manager, led by Kevin McNeil.
100+
industrial assets managed
5M+
square feet managed
200+
tenants
- Clients
- Private owners and BluebirdFamilies, trusts and private investors who own their buildings directly, many of them through 1031 exchanges.
- Acquisitions
- 12–20 buildings a yearBought for private clients. At least a third of what we buy comes to us off market, from brokers we have worked with for years.
- Deal size
- $2 million to about $30 millionPer building or portfolio.
- Markets
- St. Louis, Milwaukee, Minneapolis–St. PaulAlso Kansas City, Indianapolis, Columbus and Cincinnati.
- Services
- Leasing, management, capital projectsAnd buy-side brokerage on each acquisition.
Summit’s figures describe buildings it manages for their owners, including Bluebird. Bluebird CRE and Summit Real Estate Services are affiliated but separately owned.
Who does what
One team, two companies. Bluebird decides what to buy and answers to investors. Summit runs the buildings.
Bluebird CRE
The owner
- Acquisitions and underwriting
- Investor capital and deal structure
- Financing
- Asset management and each building’s business plan
- Investor reporting
Summit Real Estate Services
The operator
- Deal sourcing and broker coverage in each metro
- Leasing and renewals
- Property management and maintenance
- Capital projects
- Rent collection and property accounting
At each building
What Summit does once we own a property.
- Leasing
- Summit markets vacancies, negotiates renewals and moves rents to market as leases roll.
- Maintenance
- Preventive maintenance and vendor oversight. Service contracts are bid competitively.
- Capital projects
- Roofs, HVAC, docks and paving are planned, bid and supervised by Summit.
- Operating costs
- Summit appeals property tax assessments and reconciles common-area charges with tenants each year.
- Collections
- Tenants pay rent online. Summit handles collections and lease compliance.
- Owner reporting
- Monthly, quarterly and annual reports for each building.
Track record
What Bluebird has bought, what Summit manages, and what the two managing partners have done.
- Acquired by Bluebird
- 12 buildings, 493,184 square feetSince December 2021. The portfolio is 95% occupied.
- Managed by Summit
- 100+ industrial assets, 5M+ square feetManaged for private owners and for Bluebird. 200+ tenants.
- Kevin McNeil
- 300+ sale transactionsMore than 20 years in commercial real estate. Previously a Managing Director at Lincoln Property Company and at Studley, now Savills.
- Cody Leivas
- $750 million+ of transactionsMost of them Midwest industrial. Previously underwrote commercial loans at Partners Bank of California.
Figures as of September 2026, except Summit’s square footage, which is as of November 2026. Deal-level history is available to prospective partners on request.
View the portfolioOperating team
The people at Summit who run the buildings.
- Kevin McNeil
- PrincipalAlso Managing Partner of Bluebird.
- Dennis Keane
- Director of OperationsProperty operations, vendors, tenants and capital projects.
- David Reller
- Asset ManagerBudgets, business plans and owner reporting.
- Cody Leivas
- AcquisitionsAlso Managing Partner of Bluebird.