This Week's Chicago Deal Sheet

Skender completed interior construction of the 536K SF office relocation for Bank of America’s downtown Chicago offices. The bank moved to the Bank of America Tower at 110 North Wacker Drive, a new 56-story office building.

The financial institution occupies 17 floors, about one-third of the building. Its space features a trading floor with supplemental cooling and uninterrupted power supply, custom two-story trellises, a barista bar and market café and two outdoor terraces. In addition, the interior includes a staircase connecting a two-floor conference center and executive suite.

“Skender played a critical role in the project’s success – skillfully and safely managing hundreds of tradespeople and the complex logistics necessary to deliver our new office on time and under forecast,” Bank of America Senior Vice President Sarah-Lynn Cinquegrani said in a press release.

Serving as general contractor, Skender collaborated with JLL, Interior Architects and engineer Syska Hennessy Group to complete the project.

EXECS

Proper Title hired Judd Hoffman as CEO. Most recently, Hoffman served as chief transformation officer for States Title and president of its affiliate, North American Title Co. He previously spent eight years at First American Title Corp., a Fortune 500 company. Prior to his work in the title industry, Hoffman founded or led several companies in the communications and medical products industries.

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CBRE hired Chicago-based Philip Penner as director of property tax services. He will help expand CBRE Property & Transaction Tax Services in Cook County and the greater Midwest. For the past three years, he served as the first assistant commissioner at the Cook County Board of Review.

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Global design firm Stantec brought Brian Jennett on board as a Chicago-based urban planner and real estate analyst. Jennett will provide market analysis, development strategy and financial feasibility studies. He will work with private sector clients in the pre-design stage and help public sector clients promote economic development, assess impacts and fund infrastructure.

SALES

Keen Realty sold Graceway Corners, a three-story mixed-use development at 3751 North Halsted St. in the Lakeview neighborhood of Chicago, to an undisclosed buyer for $10.25M. Kiser Group’s Andrew Friedman, Jake Parker and Lee Kiser represented both seller and buyer. The 14 commercial spaces were fully occupied at close, and none were delinquent. The property was built in 1927 as a hotel. Keen purchased it in the early 1980s and renovated the building, which also features 24 residential units.

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A European investor purchased the courtyard apartment complex at 7005-7013 North Ridge Blvd. in Chicago for more than $3M. Peter Theodore of SVN | Chicago Commercial represented the seller. 

LEASES

Technology firm Codal signed a lease for 16K SF at The Old Post Office, nearly tripling its current footprint. Keval Baxi and Matt Gierut founded Codal in Chicago 12 years ago. Telos’ Jamey Dix, Matthew Whipple and Daniel Heckman represented ownership, while CBRE’s Brad Serot and Tony Coglianese represented Codal.  

The Old Post Office, built in 1921 and newly repurposed, opened its doors to tenants in November 2019. Uber, Walgreens, Ferrara Candy Co. and others have already signed leases at the 2.5M SF office building, which is now 82% leased.  

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West Monroe, a business and technology consultancy, opened its Chicago office in a new space at 311 West Monroe St. The firm signed a 12-year lease for 208K SF, twice the size of its previous footprint, and expects to double its workforce by 2024. West Monroe partnered with J.C. Anderson for the build-out.

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Chicago-based apparel retailer Akira signed a long-term lease for the 352K SF warehouse at 150 East Crossroads Parkway in southwest suburban Bolingbrook. The women’s fashion retailer will consolidate several warehouse facilities into the new location. Akira’s headquarters will remain in Chicago. Noel Liston and Nick Krejci of Darwin Realty/CORFAC International represented the tenant. JLL’s Keith Stauber and Steve Ostrowski represented the building's owner.

FINANCING

Associated Bank completed a $12.2M term loan for VK Industrial V LP, an affiliate of Chicago-based Venture One Real Estate, for the acquisition of a Chicago-area logistics portfolio of four bus terminal sites and a separate billboard site. The properties are in the Central DuPage and Fox Valley industrial submarkets of Chicago. Elizabeth Hozian of Associated Bank handled the loan arrangements and closing along with Paul Henning and Evelyn Turner.

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Marcus & Millichap Capital Corp. arranged a $6M acquisition loan for a 14K SF shopping center in north suburban Round Lake Beach. The property is 100% leased and anchored by Starbucks, Chipotle, T-Mobile and Firestone.

CONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT 

General contractor Skender completed 1100 West Fulton, a 45K SF, five-story, single-tenant mixed-use commercial building in the Fulton Market neighborhood of Chicago. The build-to-suit office and retail project for furniture company Herman Miller preserved the existing building’s masonry. It also incorporated a new concrete structure that supports the 100-year-old exterior. Skender collaborated with architect Hartshorne Plunkard Architecture, owner’s representative CBRE, developer Fulton St. Cos. and project manager ConopCo Project Management.

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J.C. Anderson completed a lobby renovation at 303 West Madison St. in Chicago. The firm reconfigured and replaced the security desk, replaced all lighting and put in new terrazzo flooring and paint throughout. The construction team was led by Joe Maguire, Mike Ruffolo and Mike Abbinante. Wright Heerema Architects provided the architectural services, and CBRE is the project manager.

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Ryan Cos. completed Phase 2 of the Oakmont Point office park redevelopment just west of Route 83 and south of 35th Street in west suburban Westmont. Ryan reconstructed the core and shell of the two-story, 50K SF building at 750 Oakmont Lane. Mental healthcare provider Compass Health Center leases the entire building and has begun an interior build-out. It will open this summer as the second anchor tenant in the 18-acre office complex. The building was designed by Chicago-based Wright Heerema Architects.

Oakmont Point’s first phase, a 95K SF building on the western portion of the site, was finished in fall 2019 and is occupied by Ryan’s Chicago office and JLL. The third phase will be a new-construction, build-to-suit structure that accommodates a medical, office, or research and development user ranging from 40K SF to 120K SF.

THIS AND THAT

Optimas Solutions, a global industrial manufacturer, distributor and service provider, moved its global corporate headquarters from Glenview into its manufacturing operations at 1441 North Wood Dale Road in west suburban Wood Dale. By moving to its existing manufacturing facility, the company aims to cut costs and improve efficiency by having everyone under one roof, CEO Marc Strandquist said in a press release.