This Week's Chicago Deal Sheet
Amazon held a grand opening last Wednesday of its new 145K SF distribution center in Pullman Crossings, a 62-acre industrial site within Pullman Park, a mixed-use development at I-94 and 103rd Street in Chicago’s Pullman neighborhood. It marks the completion of Pullman Crossings by Ryan Cos., which served as master developer, along with community developer Chicago Neighborhood Initiatives.
Ryan finished the distribution center in September. It’s the last of three industrial facilities developed at Pullman Crossings since 2017, along with a 140K SF Whole Foods distribution center and a 400K SF spec building.
In 2017, the land now occupied by Pullman Crossings was designated a federal opportunity zone. Ryan then partnered with CNI and 9th Ward Alderman Anthony Beale to build the Whole Foods distribution center, which opened in 2018.
“Early on, our team saw the potential of this large, underdeveloped area as an ideal hub for last-mile distribution, thanks to its accessibility to expressways and rail,” said Jim McDonald, Ryan Cos.' market leader of the Great Lakes Region. “The Whole Foods facility demonstrated the viability of Pullman Crossings for that function and ultimately was a catalyst for other investors and companies seeking a home for their distribution operations.”
The developer lined up equity for the spec project through Allstate and ultimately secured Racine, Wisconsin-based SC Johnson as a tenant. SC Johnson, which also operates a Method soap factory nearby in Pullman Park, moved its distribution operation for that facility to the new warehouse.
“When we look back at what we’ve accomplished at Pullman Crossings over the last three years, we see it as a model for how developers and community stakeholders can drive urban regeneration by working in tandem to harness a variety of resources,” McDonald said.
EXECS
CORFAC International named Jonathan Salk its CEO. He previously served for nearly six years as the organization’s executive director.
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Cresset Diversified Real Estate named Dominic DeRose its director of investments. DeRose will focus on the firm’s qualified opportunity zone efforts, as well as industrial development and distressed investments. Prior to joining Cresset Diversified, DeRose was a senior associate in Colliers International’s industrial advisory group.
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Chicago-based Alpha Capital CRE brought Sean Truesdale on as a vice president. Truesdale specializes in commercial real estate debt and equity placement across all asset classes. Truesdale was previously a senior associate with Chicago-based Pangea Mortgage Capital.
SALES
A manufacturing and warehouse facility at 3843 West 43rd St. and 3800 West 44th St. in Chicago sold for $5.7M. The parties were not disclosed, but Marvel Group Inc. had held the mortgage on the property, according to Cook County records. Beverly Hayes and John McDermott of SVN | Chicago Commercial represented the seller in the sale-leaseback transaction, which included one-year prepaid rent to the buyer. The buyer’s broker was Colin Green of Cushman & Wakefield.
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Investcorp acquired 32 industrial properties totaling approximately 3.5M SF across four major U.S. markets, including Chicago, for a total capitalization of more than $280M. The properties grow Investcorp’s U.S. industrial portfolio to approximately 22M SF in more than 260 buildings.
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A private investor from California purchased 1513-17 West Diversey Parkway, a 12-unit luxury apartment building in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood, for $5.78M. The deal was part of a 1031 exchange. The price per unit was $481K per SF, the highest in the submarket in four years and third-highest ever in the same area, according to CoStar data. Interra Realty’s Jeremy Morton and Ted Stratman represented the seller, a private local real estate developer. The property was built in 2017 as condos but has always been run as a rental building.
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Becovic Residential bought a 32-unit multifamily building at 1700 West Juneway Terrace in Rogers Park on Chicago’s North Side for $2.8M. The property was the only North Side building in the EquityBuild Receivership Estate, the Ponzi scheme recently shut down by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Jeff Baasch of SVN | Chicago Commercial completed the transaction. Becovic owns a number of apartment buildings in the neighborhood and plans to improve the property.
LEASES
Bridge Development Partners reached a long-term lease agreement with a national logistics company for 188K SF at its Bridge Point North Business Park in north suburban Waukegan. The company will occupy all of Building VI, one of four being constructed as part of the project’s third phase, which will add 919K SF to the 225-acre campus. Bridge completed shell construction on buildings VI, VII and VIII, and the company expects to complete building IX, the largest of the four, by the end of 2020. CBRE’s Whit Heitman, Sam Badger and Jared Paff represented Bridge in the transaction.
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Reyes Holdings signed a 141K SF, long-term global headquarters lease renewal at 6250 North River Road in suburban Rosemont with MDC Realty Advisors and Nicola Wealth Real Estate, which purchased the property in 2015. Reyes has been a tenant in the 380K SF building, known as One O’Hare Centre, since 2010. Francis Prock, Jonathon Connor and Steve Kling of Colliers International | Chicago are the exclusive leasing agents. Reyes Holdings was represented by JLL’S Jeff Liljiberg.
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ASK Products signed a long-term lease of 51K SF at 1674 Frontenac Road in Naperville. Nick Eboli and Andrew Block of Lee & Associates’ Illinois office represented landlord DRA Advisors. Cushman & Wakefield’s Michael Magliano represented ASK.
Eboli and Block, along with Lee & Associates’ Walter Murphy, also brokered a 36K SF lease for the owner of nearby 1501-1505 Frontenac Road. CBRE’s John Hamilton represented the tenant, D2K Traffic Safety.
CONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT
Culver's co-founder Craig Culver and Baron Waller, a Culver’s franchise owner, started construction on Tuesday of a casual sit-down dining establishment for the Pullman community. Adjacent to the Pullman Park mixed-use development and a few blocks east of the Historic Pullman Monument site, the more than 4K SF Culver’s is expected to open in the summer of 2021.
