This Week's Chicago Deal Sheet
North Park Ventures purchased for $4M a mixed-use property at 1935-43 North Sedgwick St. in Chicago’s Old Town Triangle historic district. The building had not been sold in nearly 50 years. It includes 12 apartments and a vacant 4K SF ground-floor commercial space.
Interra Realty Senior Managing Partner Joe Smazal represented NPV, as well as the private seller.
“This was a rare sale in a Class-A location, with the seller’s hold period underscoring the strength of the Old Town Triangle submarket,” Smazal said. “As further evidence of the property’s desirability, it generated multiple offers despite the vacant commercial space.”
Built in 1893, the building includes one one-bedroom apartment and 11 two-bedroom units, many of which feature finishes such as stained glass, exposed brick walls and decorative fireplaces.
“North Park Ventures has a track record of transforming vintage apartments into market-leading units, and its commercial leasing experience will allow the firm to market the street-level commercial space to a variety of prospective users,” Smazal added.
EXECS
John Hopkins joined Harrison Street as a vice president on its social infrastructure investment team. Hopkins brings more than 10 years of infrastructure and energy investment experience to the Chicago-based investment manager. Launched in the summer of 2018, the firm’s social infrastructure fund targets investments in critical infrastructure serving universities, health systems and government entities, including construction and acquisitions in sustainable buildings, renewable energy and district energy. The fund has raised $1.2B from institutional investors and deployed more than $400M in equity.
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Chicago-based structural engineering and architecture firm Klein & Hoffman named Chief Operating Officer Homa Ghaemi its new CEO. Current CEO Jon Boyd will remain the firm’s chairman of the board, and return to practicing as a licensed architect and structural engineer. Ghaemi has been with the firm for 19 years. She has 35 years of experience, both domestic and international.
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Colliers International Chicago’s Jack Rosenberg was included in the Society of Industrial and Office Realtors’ annual “Top Transaction Awards of 2019” list. SIOR honored Rosenberg for a 451K SF warehouse/distribution transaction he completed with Colliers’ Fred Regnery in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The two partnered with Prologis on the deal.
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Cawley Chicago, an Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois-based commercial real estate firm, welcomed Susan Heaton as its new operations director. She has more than 23 years of management experience in retail, commercial real estate and construction.
SALES
A local Chicagoland investor purchased 4735-4749 West 101 St. in Oak Lawn for $2.45M, and plans to increase rents after completing cosmetic updates to the 32-unit apartment complex, according to Essex Realty Group, which marketed the property for sale. Brian Kochendorfer and Derek Kaptanoglu of Essex represented the seller, while their colleague Steven Livaditis represented the buyer.
Essex also represented both buyer and sellers in the $2.45M off-market sale of 705 West Park Ave., a 20-unit property in Libertyville. At more than $122K per unit, the transaction represents the highest price-per-unit for a Libertyville vintage building in the last 24 months, according to Essex. Brian Karmowski represented the sellers, and Doug Imber, Kate Varde and Clay Maxfield represented the buyer, a private investor.
LEASES
Venture One Real Estate signed three leases in its 78K SF industrial building at 1001-1043 Lombard Road in west suburban Lombard. Lee & Associates’ Jay Farnam, Brent De Noble and Jeff Galante represented Venture One, which purchased the building last year, in all three leases.
- Tactical Lighting Systems, represented by Brown Commercial, leased a 5K SF unit at 1001 Lombard Road.
- Oak Hill Brands Corp., represented by Michael Manna of Cushman & Wakefield, leased the 4K SF unit at 1013 Lombard Road.
- Live Electric, represented by Tenant Base’s Dan Obiala, leased the 3K SF unit at 1021 Lombard Road.
Two units remain available in the 12-unit building.
THIS AND THAT
Chicago-based Aries Capital will not charge a borrower fee for helping commercial real estate owners, hotels and other clients secure assistance through the Paycheck Protection Program created March 27 by the federal government’s CARES Act. The program provides small businesses with loans up to 2.5 times their average monthly payroll up to $10M to cover payroll costs including wages, salaries, retirement contributions and other obligations. The Small Business Administration 100% guarantees the loans, and borrowers do not need to provide collateral.
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Breather, a provider of flexible, private office and meeting space, will for the month of April provide free private, furnished office and meeting space to companies and organizations deemed essential during the COVID-19 outbreak. The company will make spaces available in the cities where it already operates, including Chicago, New York City, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Boston.
