This Week's Chicago Deal Sheet

CEDARst Cos. and partner Origin Investments completed The Rosie, a 202-unit apartment building at 1461 South Blue Island Ave. near Pilsen, the Little Italy/University Village area and the Illinois Medical District. The partners broke ground on the $64.5M project in October, and residents began moving in this month.

Origin and CEDARst financed the development with a $42.5M loan from a syndicate of banks led by TCF Bank and $22M in qualified opportunity zone funds. This is CEDARst Cos.’ second major project in the neighborhood. In 2017, the firm redeveloped a former warehouse building at 1435 West 15th St. into The Otis, a 92-unit apartment building.  

“CEDARst shares our enthusiasm for innovation, and we enjoyed collaborating with them on new concepts like the Ori smart furniture package during development to add value for our renters,” Origin Investments principal David Scherer said in a press release. “The Rosie is in one of the most vibrant submarkets in our own backyard and we’re excited for a successful lease up.”

The Rosie has a mix of micro-studios to two-bedroom apartments. It also features ground-level retail, including a nearly 5K SF space with an adjacent outdoor plaza and another 2K SF at the corner of Blue Island Avenue and 15th Street.

EXECS

Sterling Bay hired Hugh Williams as director of strategic growth and entrepreneurship. Williams will help direct Sterling Bay’s investments in and partnerships with local minority- and women-owned businesses so they can become self-sustaining. He will maintain his current position as managing broker and principal of Chicago-based MK Asset Management. Prior to joining MK Asset Management, he established Avison Young’s Chicago office, the company’s first U.S. location. He is also the co-founder of KWILL Capital Partners.

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Farbman Group appointed Dave Clarkson vice president in suburban Chicago to operate the company’s Chicago-area properties.

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Doug Wood joined ML Realty Partners as project manager. Wood was previously employed with International Quality Contracting and W.B. Olson.

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Rich Smith joined HKS as principal and life science practice director. The Chicago-based Smith will direct the design firm’s global life sciences business. Smith has worked for more than 35 years with higher education, corporate/commercial, governmental and healthcare clients. He joins HKS from HGA.

SALES

Fort Worth, Texas-based MAG Capital Partners acquired a 645K SF industrial facility on 124 acres at 41 U.S. Route 30 in Rock Falls, about two hours west of Chicago. The property, known as the I-88 Distribution Center, has operated since 2018 under a long-term triple-net lease with Cimco Recycling, a family-owned processor and broker of scrap metal.

The distribution center had been a Stanley Black & Decker plant before it was renovated in 2018. Mary Garnett and Jim Tuesley of Barnes & Thornburg represented MAG Capital Partners in the acquisition. Marcus & Millichap’s Kent Williams, Matt Taylor and Steven Weinstock represented the seller.

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CA Ventures sold 500 East Devon Ave., a 146K SF distribution center, to a fund managed by Goldman Sachs for an undisclosed price. Completed in 2020, the building was 71% leased to three tenants at closing. Colliers International Chicago’s Jeff Devine and Steve Disse represented CA Ventures in the sale. Colliers International will continue to represent the new owner on the remaining 42K SF.

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Joslyn Manufacturing Co., a subsidiary of Danaher Corp., sold an 11.75-acre site at 3700 South Morgan St. in Chicago’s Stockyards Industrial Park to IDI Logistics for an undisclosed price. IDI plans to build a 178K SF industrial facility with 36-foot ceiling heights and parking for 212 cars. It expects to deliver the project by Q2 2022. Colliers International Chicago’s Matthew Stauber, Evan Djikas, Tom Rodeno and Patrick Turner represented the seller. IDI also retained Colliers to market the new development.

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A joint venture partnership of Clear Height Properties and Harbert U.S. Real Estate acquired a 75K SF, single-tenant, net-leased industrial building at 1228 Tower Road in northwest suburban Schaumburg. The same joint venture also recently completed a more than $55M recapitalization of a 15-property Chicago-region industrial portfolio totaling more than 1M SF. Adam Haefner of Avison Young coordinated the 1228 Tower Road acquisition. ABX, a North Carolina-based packaging manufacturer, leases the building, which was constructed in 1967.

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Venture One Real Estate, through a partnership with Kovitz Investment Group, acquired a 23K SF industrial building at 3601-3603 Edison Place in northwest suburban Rolling Meadows, Illinois. The seller, Business Electronics Soldering Technologies, will lease back nearly 13K SF. The remaining 10K SF is leased. Rick Anesi of Lee & Associates represented the seller.

LEASES

Wolf Point East, a new 698-unit luxury apartment building in River North, now is 90% leased, according to Luxury Living Chicago Realty, which leases the tower. Wolf Point East was designed by Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects in partnership with Pappageorge Haymes Partners. 

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Prologis signed a long-term lease with Lakeview Appliance for a 105K SF industrial building at 2600 Elmhurst Road in northwest suburban Elk Grove Village. Chris Nelson, Jay Farnam and Calvin Gunn of Lee & Associates’ Illinois office were the deal’s sole brokers.

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Coworking operator Venture X signed a full-floor, 23K SF lease within 1 Mid America Plaza in suburban Oakbrook Terrace. Avison Young’s Fred Ishler and Paige Korte negotiated the transaction on behalf of the landlord, IPX Mid America Investors, an affiliate of Equus Capital Partners. The owner recently completed a $12M capital improvement project that included renovated common areas, upgraded amenity spaces and base building improvements.

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GenCorr Packaging renewed its existing lease of 41K SF and added more than 29K SF at 12500 South Lombard in southwest suburban Alsip. Avison Young’s Chris Lydon and Zeke Rowan represented GenCorr. Darwin Realty/CORFAC International’s Todd Hendricks and Sam Lepore represented Welbic IV Alsip 12500, a real estate venture in which Speedwagon Properties is a partner and owner of the 86K SF building.

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Truck Tire Express doubled its headquarters space by buying the 31K SF industrial warehouse at 1001 Fargo Ave. in northwest suburban Elk Grove Village. Brown Commercial Group’s Trinity Scurto represented the buyer. The seller, HAK Management, was represented by Andrew Maletich of Cawley Chicago.

CONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT

KBS Real Estate Investment Trust III broke ground on a $22M renovation project at Accenture Tower, a 40-story, 1.4M SF building at 500 West Madison St. in downtown Chicago. Planned upgrades include a new office lobby, a conference center, a tenant lounge with a 19-foot ceiling and an outdoor deck. KBS will also add 90K SF of new spec suites. Chicago-based GREC Architects designed the renovation plans for the building, which sits atop the Ogilvie Transportation Center. Wendy Katz and Matt Lerner of Stream Realty are handling leasing services for Accenture Tower on behalf of KBS. KBS is working with builder Leopardo Cos. on the upgrades.

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James McHugh Construction Co. and its joint venture partner Crea Construction, a minority- and woman-owned general contracting firm, completed interior renovations to more than 150 units at Prairie Shores, a 1,675-unit, five-tower apartment complex on 20 acres at 2801-3001 South Martin Luther King Drive in Chicago’s Bronzeville neighborhood.

Developed from 1957 to 1961 and purchased in 2019 by Chicago-based firms Golub & Co. and Farpoint Development, along with New York-based Goldman Sachs, Prairie Shores is undergoing a multiphased renovation. The team began staggered renovations of Prairie Shores apartments in the fall of 2020. The renovated units were designed by Evanston, Illinois-based Kaufman & O’Neil. McHugh/Crea also worked with Chicago-based commercial stone subcontractor GI Stone, which is sourcing, fabricating and installing nearly 40K SF of granite in the units’ kitchens and baths.

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Wright Heerema Architects, a Chicago-based architectural and interior design firm, completed work on a new office suite in Chicago’s Old Post Office for the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning, a regional planning organization.

CMAP moved from its previous headquarters in Willis Tower to the new 37K SF fourth-floor suite at 433 West Van Buren St., which is 20K SF smaller and provides the agency with a more open and collaborative workspace. Wright Heerema and CMAP partnered with building owner and developer 601W, owner’s representative Telos Group, general contractor Power Construction and tenant representative Cresa.

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McShane Construction Co. began a 429K SF addition to Abt Electronics’ warehouse and showroom facility in north suburban Glenview. The addition will incorporate two three-story office blocks totaling 22K SF and 407K SF of warehouse space. The office build-outs will include trucking offices, security offices, a break room and open office space for future build-outs. The single-story warehouse will offer a 32-foot clear height. McShane expects to complete the expansion in October. The architect of record is Camburas & Theodore.

THIS AND THAT

The Habitat Co. was hired as property manager of the 587-unit Carl Sandburg Village Condominium Association No. 1 in Chicago’s Gold Coast neighborhood. Habitat has taken on the management duties for more than 1,500 condominium units in 2021. The company’s condominium portfolio now includes 15 associations and 5,638 units under management in Chicago and Southeast Michigan.

CORRECTION, MAY 20, 10 A.M. CST: A previous version of this article misstated MAG Capital Partners' correct name. This article has been updated.