World-Class Security
Friedman brings blighted Chicago real estate into technology world
- By Mary Wilbur
- Aug 01, 2014
Chicago is a world-class
city in every respect;
though 40 years ago, the
River North area was
quite different. It was run
down and almost forgotten, even though
it was a prime location. Storeowners returned
and entrepreneurs took a chance;
business started to gain momentum.
River North is a neighborhood that
fit perfectly into the hopes and dreams
of Albert M. Friedman, who bought up
buildings about 25 years ago, planned a
new lease on life for the properties and
with it, began a technological renovation.
That included bringing the best security
technology into play, and as time
wore on, even updating and modifying
what was in place.
Friedman wanted the best technology
to protect his investment, and more
importantly, to protect his tenants in the
various buildings he owned. As the only
24/7 neighborhood in Chicago, River
North and Friedman Properties have a
shared vision for the area to ensure that
success will continue to present itself:
aligning the right tenants with the right
buildings, demanding the best in security
and investing purposefully.
Shifting Security
Jim Weiss has been the director of security
for Friedman for several years and
has seen the company move the analog to
IP—from a security management system
that really didn’t work that well to the
network solution they are now using.
The property management and
real estate company is an all-IP
video surveillance system. Four
years ago, Salient Systems was
brought on board to deploy
its CompleteView solution
at the head end. What this
meant to Friedman was remote
access to all its properties with
high-quality images.
“We were ready to move to the
next level of security about four
years ago,” Weiss said. “What
we were using in terms of
security wasn’t working,
yet we knew
with technology there were some phenomenal
possibilities for us.”
At that time, Friedman Properties
was just finishing the construction of its
Greenway Garage. The parking structure
was the first candidate for a Salient System
video management system, coupled
with Axis Communications’ cameras.
Weiss said that they knew DVRs would
not be able to handle the images and
network traffic they expected, especially
when the company wanted to loop cameras
from all other properties to a nerve
center located in the parking garage area.
Friedman Properties has more than
50 properties in the River North area,
and Weiss said that they run the security
system as though it were a college campus.
The company has deployed nearly
500 IP cameras, developing what they
call a “solid security system.”
“This isn’t the end of what we’re going
to do with these properties,” said Jay
Rulili, CEO of Forest Security and the
integrator for Friedman. “We maintain
access to all the alarms and if anything
goes wrong, we fix it right the first time;
however, the systems they have chosen
are dependable and reliable.”
Security as a Force Multiplier
Friedman Properties has a diverse group
of tenants in River North. They range
from what’s for lunch at Epic Burger, a
cycling fitness center, to commercial office
space with multi-tenant businesses.
The buildings represent a nostalgic
look of yesteryear, but the security system
is anything but retro. All camera feeds
return remotely to a command center,
and security staff is able to remotely see
anything and everything. Tenants also
have the opportunity to research captured
video. CompleteView makes this possible
at any one of the 40 buildings.
“In this case, CompleteView acts as a
force multiplier,” said Brian Carle, chief
technology officer at Salient Systems.
“As a force multiplier, the VMS is not
only the bridge to modernization for the
security system, but allows remote access
where the command center has access to
all video.
“Because this area of the city has
limited bandwidth, CompleteView has
a dynamic resolution setting, allowing it
to work effectively in River North where
there is an older infrastructure, and
where there are (modern) high-resolution
megapixel cameras.”
With certain modifications, Carle
said that the VMS also is able to deploy
specific alarms in the command center
that allow only relevant video to be displayed. Security staff is then able
to focus on that point of interest and
activity as CompleteView allows for
motion detection that pops up on the
video screen.
“It is part of the functionality of
CompleteView,” Carle said. “A single
action across multiple sites allows an
update to the entire system. The force
multiplier also means that Freidman
Properties was able to reduce the expense
of hiring guards on the ground,
whose job it was to roam between
buildings. Now, they are able to see via
remote cameras what is going on, when
it’s happening.”
The VMS also plays a key role for
building tenants. Let’s say, for example,
a tenant has forgotten keys, a code or
even a credential to enter a building.
Because of the remote possibilities, that
tenant can alert the command center
of his or her situation and can then be
identified and authorized to enter. The
command center will open the door to
the building or the suite inside the facility
through a remote facility unlock.
Out with the Old, In with the New
What was old is now renovated and new.
Chris Meiter, vice president of sales at
Salient Systems, has been on the ground
floor in security since his employer took
control of the head end of the security
system four years ago. He said that this
now vibrant part of Chicagoland is protected
with the best security systems
on the market. He said that Friedman
Properties were interested in cameras
that offered higher resolution and facial
recognition in the IP video surveillance
market. CompleteView brought it all together,
and now that includes being able
to see what is taking place by using an
iPhone or iPad.
As the neighborhood evolves, Friedman
Properties continues to expand its
vision for the community with nearly
$1 billion in new construction planned
over the next five years including office,
hospitality, retail, residential and
parking space. The company’s current
developments—a Silver LEED certified,
Class A office building and two
new Marriott hotels—will further the
diverse mix of uses that give the neighborhood
its unique flair.
Friedman Properties’ achievements
in using historic preservation
and adaptive re-use as the catalyst for
revitalizing urban areas have earned
the company national acclaim. River
North’s central landmark, the old
Cook County Criminal Courts building,
rests on the history-steeped site of
the Haymarket riot trials and saw some
of the most infamous cases in the city’s
chronicles tried within its walls. Now
as one of the area’s most distinguished
addresses, the building’s one-of-a-kind
spaces are outfitted with state-of-theart
technology and modern amenities
to accommodate businesses’ 21st century
needs. Among those needs are
protection and asset security.
As security technology continues
to evolve, application of new solutions
will undoubtedly take place at River
North.
This article originally appeared in the August 2014 issue of Security Today.