This Week's Chicago Deal Sheet

JLL Capital Markets arranged $30.6M in financing for 601-609 West Randolph St., which will be used to upgrade a five-story, historic office building on the site in Fulton Market and develop a new 15-story boutique office building. JLL worked on behalf of the borrower, Vista Property Group, to secure the financing through Bank OZK. Once complete, the pair of buildings will contain more than 110K SF.

601 West Randolph, built in the 1890s, includes five floors of retail and loft office space. The 15-story 609 West Randolph was designed by Antunovich Associates. It will feature a modern brick and metal exterior, small floor plans, touchless interior features and fresh air exchange, as well as a rooftop terrace, fitness room and a café/tenant lounge.

“The West Loop is Chicago’s dominant office submarket, but existing product is predominantly large towers,” JLL’s Christopher Knight said in a press release. “A modern boutique building in this location, combined with the immediate access to all of Fulton Market’s amenities and charm, will be uniquely appealing to tenants, particularly in a post-pandemic market.”

EXECS

Prologis promoted Carter Andrus, previously managing director of capital deployment, to central region president. He will handle development, acquisitions and operations across 10 markets: Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Cincinnati, Columbus, Indianapolis, Louisville, Nashville, Austin and San Antonio. In addition, Ryan George, senior vice president and investment officer, will become the region's head of deployment. 

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Envoy Net Lease Partners brought Sarah Maynard onto its management team in Northbrook, Illinois, as vice president. She previously worked at Marcus & Millichap Capital Corp., where she supported a capital brokerage team for seven years as a processor and closer of commercial real estate loans.

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The Chicago chapter of the Society of Industrial and Office Realtors named its new executive board officers for 2021. Newmark’s Adam Marshall will lead the organization, which includes 170 brokers in the Chicago market. Also on the board are CBRE’s Sam Badger, who will serve as chapter vice president; Bespoke Commercial Real Estate’s Peter Billmeyer, who will serve as chapter secretary; NAI Hiffman’s Chris Gary, who will serve as chapter treasurer; Lee & Associates’ John Cassidy, who will serve as director-at-large; and Tom Boyle, also of Lee & Associates, who will serve as recruitment chair.

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LaSalle Investment Management hired David DeVos as its global head of environmental, social and corporate governance, and Elena Alschuler as vice president of sustainability in the Americas. DeVos will oversee the firm’s initiatives on climate change and health and wellness. Prior to joining LaSalle, he worked for PGIM Real Estate as the firm's chief sustainability officer. Alschuler joins LaSalle from View Inc.

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The Laramar Group appointed David Ferrero as executive vice president — capital markets. Ferrero will direct the company’s strategic fundraising, joint venture activity and investor relations. Ferrero previously was a partner with Alcion Ventures in Boston, and he joins Laramar from Mosaic Building Group, where he was head of real estate and business development.

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Creation hired Chicago-based Josh Zemon as its managing principal. He will help oversee the Phoenix-based firm’s acquisitions, entitlement, development, construction, asset management and capital raising in the Chicago, Southwest, Texas and New York markets. Prior to joining Creation, Zemon spent 12 years at Walton Street Capital, most recently as a principal in its acquisitions group.

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Professional services firm MGO LLP hired Kevin O’Brien as supervisor of its new Chicago office. The firm’s Chicago-based team is led by Sarah McGuire and Barbara Webb. MGO serves a wide array of industries including cannabis, life sciences, biotech and real estate.

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Redwood Capital Group promoted Bill McDougall to managing director of investments and head of acquisitions, and Field Stern to managing director of investments and head of capital markets. Both also joined the firm’s investment committee. In addition, Chicago-based Redwood hired Bill Rose as director of investments in the firm's Dallas-Fort Worth office. Since joining the company in 2007, McDougall has been involved in more than 70 multifamily acquisitions.

SALES

Preservation of Affordable Housing closed on the purchases of two senior-focused housing developments in Chicago. In the Rogers Park neighborhood on the far north side, POAH closed the $8.1M purchase from the Council for Jewish Elderly of Levy House at 1221 West Sherwin Ave., a 57-unit building for seniors a half-block from Lake Michigan. The Chicago Housing Authority, city of Chicago and PNC Bank helped finance the purchase and an upcoming renovation. Kyle Shoemaker of Affordable Housing Investment Brokerage represented POAH and partnered on the listing with Kiser Group.

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Oak Brook, Illinois-based Inland Real Estate Acquisitions, the purchasing arm of The Inland Real Estate Group of Cos., closed $1.3B of commercial real estate acquisitions in 2020 in the multifamily, self-storage and industrial sectors.

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Iron Bridge Lending sold two recently rehabbed rental properties in Chicago’s South Shore neighborhood for a total of $5.46M: 7646 South Essex Ave., a 30-unit apartment building, and 7800 South Phillips Ave., a 33-unit community. Interra Realty’s Ted Stratman and Jeremy Morton represented both Iron Bridge Lending and the undisclosed buyer, a local multifamily owner. Units in the two buildings, both constructed in 1926, were 88% occupied at the time of the sale.

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A private owner and family trust sold a 13K SF land site at 1935 South Michigan Ave. in the South Loop for $2.6M. Drew Neems and Theron May with Imperial Realty represented the seller. Marcus & Millichap’s Dominic Sulo represented the buyer, a private owner-user.

LEASES

Zeller awarded Colliers International Chicago the exclusive office leasing assignment for 311 South Wacker Drive. Colliers’ Michael Lirtzman and Marina Zelenkova will spearhead efforts. Notable tenants in the 65-story, 1.3M SF tower include Freeborn & Peters, Thompson Reuters, Attorneys' Liability Assurance Society and Mizuho Securities Co. Colliers will focus on leasing the 184K SF currently available, as well as the 11 fully furnished, occupancy-ready spec suites.

FINANCING

The $84.2M loan for the Renaissance Chicago Downtown has been modified, with its maturity pushed out from this month until the summer of 2022, according to Trepp. The 27-story, 553-unit property was built in 1991 and renovated in 2012.

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Preservation of Affordable Housing closed on the financing to rehab Father Martin Farrell House, which it purchased in 2019, and extend the affordability of its units. Located at 1415 East 65th St. in East Woodlawn, and within walking distance of Jackson Park and the future Obama Presidential Center, Farrell House is a 59-unit, five-story elevator apartment building for seniors and disabled individuals.  

CONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT

Krusinski Construction completed the build-out of a nearly 12K SF day rehabilitation center for Shirley Ryan AbilityLab within the Enterprise Office Campus at 3215 North Wilke Road in northwest suburban Arlington Heights. It’s the fourth Chicagoland facility KCC has completed for Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, formerly the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago. Krusinski’s construction team included Greg Krucek, Kuy Parker, Erin Anderson and Dan DeLucio. The Shirley Ryan AbilityLab project team also included architect Cannon Design, civil engineer Manhard Consulting and owner’s rep Ascent.

THIS AND THAT

Clear Height Properties relocated its offices to 26TWENTYFIVE, the 214K SF building at 2625 Butterfield Road in Oak Brook it owns and finished renovating earlier this year. The work included improvements to the exterior facade, the lobby and common areas, and the addition of a fitness center and conference/meeting room spaces. The company took a 6K SF space on the second floor of the building.

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Illinois suburbs added close to 11,400 new apartments over the last five years, according to RENTCafé. Oak Park, just outside Chicago, boasted the highest number. Oak Park added 1,068 new units over the last five years, followed by Aurora with 709 and Wheeling with 651.