This Week's Chicago Deal Sheet
Transwestern Investment Group sold a three-building warehouse complex in southwest suburban Wilmington to Beverly Hills, California-based Silver Creek Development for $130M, one of the region’s largest-ever industrial transactions, Crain’s Chicago Business reported. Michelin North America leases the 2M SF property.
It is another signal that Chicagoland’s industrial market, which has notched record amounts of new leasing and construction amid the coronavirus pandemic-related slowdown, is considered attractive by national investors.
The complex at 29900 South Graaskamp Blvd. was constructed as a build-to-suit for Michelin in 2015. It sits within Elion Logistics Park 55, a 2,500-acre development underway about 40 miles southwest of Chicago and near the intersection of I-55 and I-80. When complete, the park will include about 20M SF of industrial, warehousing and logistics buildings, according to CBRE.
JLL helped arrange $80M in acquisition financing for Silver Creek, according to Crain’s. JLL placed the seven-year, fixed-rate loan with Pacific Life Insurance Co., according to a JLL press release.
A new JLL report on the Midwest industrial outlook said e-commerce will continue to fuel much of the growth in the warehouse and distribution sector.
“The Midwest is experiencing a surge in industrial investment,” according to JLL. “As warehouse demand continues to rise, Midwest markets are seeing an unprecedented amount of investment from tenants, developers, and investors that may have once considered the region ‘fly over country.’”
EXECS
Philip Galligan joined JLL Capital Markets as a director in its Chicago office. He will focus on debt and equity placement transactions across the Midwest and nationally. Galligan began his career as a credit analyst at TD Bank after graduating from the Gabelli School of Business at Fordham University.
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Advocate Commercial Real Estate Advisors and ProTen Realty Group merged and will continue under the Advocate name. ProTen co-founders Renee Betzelos, Kurt Walsh and Art Clamage will become co-managing principal, executive vice president and senior managing director, respectively, of Advocate. The tenant representation firm has offices in the Chicago and Detroit markets.
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Cresa promoted Liz Roberts to principal – account management. Roberts, who has been with Cresa for 11 years, was previously a senior vice president in the Chicago office, focusing on multi-market account management. She also leads Cresa Chicago’s industrial practice group. Prior to joining Cresa, Roberts was an associate at Newmark.
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NorthMarq promoted Chicago-based Brett Hood to managing director and Kevin McCarthy to senior vice president. Hood will co-manage the Chicago office with Sue Blumberg and will continue the procurement of financing for Chicago-area and national clients. He joined the company in January 2017 as senior vice president.
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Residential brokerage firm @properties hired Angela Paoli as vice president of education. Paoli comes to @properties from Coldwell Banker Realty, where she most recently served as district vice president of the Northwest Chicagoland region. She began her real estate career at her family’s brokerage firm, Century 21 McMullen, which she helped grow into one of the top 10 Century 21 offices in the nation.
SALES
TRB Properties One LLC, a venture led by Tom Boney, sold for $2.48M the Chicago Defender Building, a landmarked mixed-use property at 3433-35 South Indiana Ave. in a historic section of Chicago’s Bronzeville neighborhood known as the Gap. Built in 1899 and designed by Henry Newhouse, the property served as a synagogue before housing the Chicago Defender newspaper from 1920 to 1960. The building was renovated in 2016. It has a ground-floor commercial space and eight apartments. Interra Realty’s Joe Smazal represented Boney and the undisclosed buyer.
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West Lake Commercial LLC acquired a 21K SF building at 1735 Cortland Court in northwest suburban Addison. Brown Commercial Group’s Trinity Scurto represented West Lake in the transaction, which was negotiated and closed in 30 days. Lee & Associates' Jay Farnan and Andrew Block represented the seller.
In addition, Willow Tree LLC sold an 18K SF industrial building at 1635 Lancaster Road in South Elgin to Caracas Transportation Inc. Brown’s Brian Lindgren represented Willow Tree, and Worth Clark Realty’s Ilie Haures represented the buyer.
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Transport Properties bought two adjacent sites totaling 83 acres of industrial land in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Pitts Bros. sold a 73-acre site at 8331 38th St., and Bear Commercial sold a 10-acre site at 4015-4435 88th Ave. Tom Boyle of Lee & Associates’ Illinois office represented Transport Properties in both transactions.
LEASES
Chicago-based developer Moceri + Roszak, in partnership with Thomas Roszak Architecture, began leasing Parkline Chicago’s 190 apartments. The 26-story tower also features 24 condominium homes and more than 6K SF of ground-floor retail at 60 East Randolph St. in Chicago’s Loop. Construction will be completed this spring. Clark Construction is the general contractor. The apartments are scheduled to begin delivering this month, while the condominiums will be ready for occupancy in April.
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The Downtown Chicago office market now has 5.5M SF of available sublease space, representing approximately 3.7% of the total office inventory, according to MBRE’s monthly sublease report. That is more available sublease space than the previous historic high of 4.2M SF in 2009. There are now 19 available subleases larger than 50K SF on the market, up from five at the end of Q1 2020. The latest additions are Yelp’s 60K SF at The Merchandise Mart, Morgan Lewis’ 55K SF at 77 West Wacker Drive and Uber’s 142K SF at The Old Post Office.
CONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT
Chicago-based Belgravia Group began construction at 305-323 South Racine Ave. on CA6 West Loop, a 72-unit, seven-story condominium development. The project is nearly 45% sold, and the company expects to deliver its first homes in summer 2022. Prices range from $837K to $1.6M.
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PREMIER Design + Build Group is putting the finishing touches on a two-building industrial complex at 202-228 East Devon Ave. in northwest suburban Elk Grove Village for developer Seefried Industrial Properties. Building 1 will have 79K SF and a 32-foot clear height. Building 2 will have 83K SF. PREMIER’s team for this spec project includes Mitch Braam, Dan Wolf and Michael Long. PREMIER and Seefried worked with Harris Architects for architectural design services. Jacob and Hefner Associates is leading civil engineering services for the development, slated for completion by March 1.
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Five stores opened at Sawmill Station, a mixed-use development under construction on 26 acres by a joint venture between Oak Brook, Illinois-based Kensington Development Partners and IM Properties in suburban Morton Grove. An additional three anchors will open in the near future. Also under construction are 250 apartments called The Residences at Sawmill Station. Retailers now open for business include a 55K SF Kohls, a 12K SF Dollar Tree, Starbucks and Aspen Dental.
THIS AND THAT
The nonprofit Illinois Energy Conservation Authority NFP closed a $3M Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy deal to finance energy-efficient upgrades in west suburban Aurora’s Old Copley Medical Hospital. The Aurora City Council had voted to transform the abandoned 9-acre medical campus at 506 South Lincoln Ave. into 102 senior housing units, 53 supportive living units, a pharmacy, health care facility, surgical center and a landscaped park. Aurora-based Fox Valley Developers will spearhead the new development. Enhanced Capital, a national asset manager, helped finance the project through the IECA program.
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Optima will lead property management and leasing services at its 490-unit Optima Signature mixed-use development in Chicago’s Streeterville neighborhood, the under-construction 198-unit Optima Lakeview in Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood and its upcoming 109-unit building in downtown Wilmette along Chicago’s North Shore. While Optima has served as the owner, architect, developer and general contractor for its properties in Chicago and Arizona for more than 40 years, the firm had also assumed property management services at its Scottsdale, Arizona, rental communities, which contain more than 1,000 units.
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Tishman Speyer secured Fitwel Certification for 320 North Sangamon St., a 13-story, 270K SF creative office building being co-developed in Fulton Market with Chicago-based Mark Goodman & Associates. The global health certification system was created as a joint initiative by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the General Services Administration. The nonprofit Center for Active Design operates the program, which gauges whether properties enhance occupant health and productivity. Chicago-based Solomon Cordwell Buenz is the project architect.
