This Week's Chicago Deal Sheet
Sterling Bay broke ground on 345 North Morgan St. in Fulton Market, a project stopped by Covid-19 in 2020. Deputy Mayor Samir Meeker, 27th Ward Alderman Walter Burnett and officials from project partners such as Skender and Eckenhoff Saunders Architects, joined Sterling Bay representatives last week at a groundbreaking ceremony for the 200K SF office and retail building.
“Sterling Bay began pre-development on 345 North Morgan many months before Covid-19 was on anyone’s radar,” Sterling Bay CEO Andy Gloor said in a statement. “In fact, we were ready to begin digging at the site in early March 2020, just days before everything — including this particular project — came to a swift halt.”
The company acquired the site in 2014 and decided to launch the building, designed by Eckenhoff Saunders Architects, on a speculative basis. It plans to complete construction in 13 months, allowing future tenants to move into their new office space as early as September 2022.
"Covid-19 has caused countless development delays and disruptions across Chicago, but this project will deliver in just over a year — that’s a significant accomplishment even by pre-pandemic standards,” Skender CEO Justin Brown said in a statement. Skender has also formed a joint venture partnership with JLL Construction, a local certified minority-owned business, for this development.
EXECS
Chicago-based development firm Fifield Cos. hired Erin Spears as president. She plans to help the company expand its presence in major Southeast and Southwest markets such as Phoenix and Miami. Spears rejoins Fifield Cos., leaving her position as executive vice president of acquisitions at Heitman. Prior to Heitman, she spent eight years at Fifield and was senior vice president of acquisitions.
CRG, the real estate development and investment arm of Chicago-based Clayco, hired Ciere Boatright as vice president of real estate and community development. Boatright will help oversee the planning and development of CRG’s real estate projects, including securing land entitlements and public and private financing, negotiating agreements with governments, and working closely with community organizations. Boatright joins CRG from Chicago Neighborhood Initiatives, where she was vice president of real estate and inclusion.
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Scott Niedergang launched Physician Real Estate Capital Advisors, a firm that will focus on healthcare real estate sale-leasebacks and investment sale advisory services. Niedergang served as a managing director at Cushman & Wakefield and first vice president with Institutional Property Advisors of Marcus & Millichap. The PRECAP team will specialize in medical office buildings, ambulatory surgery centers, surgical hospitals, rehabilitation hospitals, behavioral health facilities, dialysis clinics and other outpatient facilities.
SALES
Venture One Real Estate, through its acquisition fund VK Industrial V LP, a partnership between Venture One and Kovitz Investment Group, closed on the acquisition of a 179K SF industrial building at 6900 Austin Ave. in northwest suburban Niles. The precast building is 100% leased to one tenant. Christopher Volkert of Colliers International represented the seller in the transaction.
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An unnamed family trust sold a 40-unit multifamily property at 5301 North Ashland Ave. in Chicago’s Andersonville neighborhood for $5M. It went under contract in four days, according to Kiser Group’s Andy Friedman and Jake Parker, who represented both the buyer, a local investor, and the seller.
LEASES
The Habitat Co. welcomed Wintrust Bank and Momentum Coffee as the first retail tenants at 2650 West Ogden Ave. in Ogden Commons, its 10-acre, $200M mixed-use development on Chicago’s Near West Side. Other leases have also been signed with Ja’Grill, which plans to take possession of its space this month, and Sinai Health System, which expects to open in December.
CONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT
PREMIER Design + Build Group broke ground on its new corporate headquarters at 1305 Busch Parkway in northwest suburban Buffalo Grove. The design and construction firm sold its Itasca headquarters, which it occupied for seven years. The company teamed with Cornerstone Architects Ltd. for architectural design of the 50K SF, two-story Buffalo Grove facility, and plans to complete it by July 2022. PREMIER’s Samantha Skopek is the senior project manager. The company selected Swift Structural Design as its structural engineer and Spaceco Inc. for civil engineering services.
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McShane Construction Co. completed construction at the 364-unit Arden Residences in west suburban Warrenville for its client, Interforum Holdings. The new multifamily community is part of Warrenville’s Cantera development. Baranyk Associates provided architectural services.
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The Missner Group was selected as the general contractor by Illinois Bone and Joint Institute for the build-out of its new locations at 6410 Route 53 in Woodridge, 20 75th St. in Willowbrook and 13963 South Bell Road in Homer Glen. Construction at each location will include the build-out of a physical/occupational therapy center, patient rehabilitation suites, private medical offices and strength training areas, including an open concept physical therapy gym. The Missner Group’s Scott Nomellini will lead the effort, which the company plans to complete in Q4 2021.
THIS AND THAT
Chicago’s overall renter activity jumped by 38% in the first half of 2021 compared to the same time last year, according to RENTCafé. The city is also going against the national trend when it comes to income, as renters earning between $50K and $75K a year were among the most eager to switch apartments. The number of applications from renters making this much money spiked by 70% since last year.
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Matthews Real Estate Investment Services acquired Cadence Capital Partners, a capital advisory firm founded in 2017 by Michael Bennett and Jay Soave, who will continue serving as executives. Cadence, which has offices in Chicago and Denver, arranges equity and debt across all commercial property types.
