This Week's Chicago Deal Sheet
The Loop was the fastest-growing Chicago neighborhood in the past decade, and Chicago’s downtown was the fastest-growing in the U.S., according to a new report, based on U.S. census data, from the Chicago Loop Alliance. And despite concerns that fears of Covid-19 would depopulate downtown, the neighborhood’s growth has continued in 2021.
The U.S. census defines the Loop as the neighborhood between the Chicago River to the north and west, Lake Michigan to the east and Roosevelt Road to the south. In the past decade, its population increased by 44%, the only Chicago neighborhood to surpass 40%.
“The pandemic showed us the importance of the Loop continuing to trend toward a mixed-use district with a healthy residential population to support the storefront economy,” Chicago Loop Alliance President and CEO Michael Edwards said in a statement. “This is a trend we’ve seen in downtown Chicago for years, but the census data puts hard numbers to the idea and shows just how fast this residential growth is happening.”
The Loop recorded its highest population ever, now standing at 42,298 residents, according to the Alliance. The neighborhood also became more diverse. Asian and Hispanic residents increased by 87% and 74%, respectively. Black residents increased by 13%.
The surrounding community areas of the Near North Side, Near South Side and Near West Side also saw strong growth. Together, the entire Central Business District and Downtown are home to 244,455 residents, according to the census data.
EXECS
KeyBank Real Estate Capital appointed Chicago-based Samantha Miller to vice president and mortgage banker. She will handle new business development and relationship management as part of a team providing off-balance sheet financing solutions for private real estate owners, investors and developers. Prior to joining Key, Miller was a senior producer in multifamily production and sales with Freddie Mac.
***
Mason Taylor, Chris Cassata and Karoline Eigel joined Cushman & Wakefield to lead its Chicago agency leasing efforts. Taylor joins as executive managing director, Cassata joins as managing director, and Eigel joins as director and leader of the firm’s Chicago healthcare advisory practice. Taylor and Cassata will focus on building the firm’s office agency leasing business in Downtown Chicago, while Eigel will focus on its healthcare practice. Taylor and Cassata join Cushman & Wakefield from JLL while Eigel joins the firm from MBRE.
***
Gary Wenzel joined Farbman Group as senior property manager. Wenzel will oversee a portfolio of buildings throughout the Chicago area.
***
MB Real Estate promoted Damon Brill, the company's IT department director, to senior vice president. Brill joined the company in 2008 and coordinates the company's tech-focused hardware, software and education needs. Before he arrived at MBRE, Brill worked as an IT certification instructor, corporate trainer and consultant at several companies.
SALES
A private investor sold a five‐building flex/industrial portfolio in north suburban Skokie to an out‐of‐state, private investor. The buildings, located at 8111 St. Louis, 8109-8127 Central Park, 8100-8142 Monticello, 8042-8052 Monticello and 7231-7315 St. Louis, total 248K SF. The occupancy for the portfolio has averaged about 95% over the past 15 years. Danny Spitz and Paul Tesdal of Greenstone Partners represented the seller and procured the buyer.
***
MDH Partners acquired a net lease portfolio of six industrial buildings and one secured trailer lot totaling 1.3M SF in southwest suburban Bedford Park about 3 miles south of Chicago’s Midway International Airport. This deal represents the firm’s first expansion into Illinois. The buildings range in size from 120K SF to 380K SF, sit on a combined 64 acres, and feature clear heights ranging from 22 to 28 feet. The portfolio is 96% leased to seven tenants. Houston Hawley served as the acquisition lead for MDH Partners. CBRE represented the seller.
***
Breckenridge Apartments in Rockford, a city about 90 miles northwest of Chicago, was sold to Becovic Rockford, a subsidiary of Chicago-based Becovic Management Group, for $10M. Constructed in 1991, Breckenridge is a 144-unit complex consisting of 18 eight-unit buildings and 156 detached garages. The property sits a few blocks from the Interstate 90 expressway and Rockford’s shopping district near the new Rockford casino.
***
James Campbell Co. sold CEVA O’Hare Distribution Complex, a two-building industrial facility at 1333 and 1347 Mount Prospect Road in northwest suburban Des Plaines to California-based LBA Realty. The warehouse/terminal complex on the north side of O’Hare International Airport totals 228K SF and will serve as CEVA’s primary O’Hare distribution and sorting hub. Colliers Chicago’s Jeff Devine and Steve Disse represented the seller.
***
A local private owner sold a 38-unit rental community at 7320 North Ridge Blvd. in the Rogers Park neighborhood for $5.7M, or $151K per unit, to a confidential buyer. Interra Realty’s Joe Smazal represented both the buyer and seller. Built in 1954 and last renovated in 2006, the building includes 36 one-bedroom and two two-bedroom units. Together, they were 97% occupied at the time of sale.
***
Chicago-based developer Focus and its sales and marketing firm, @properties Development Group, have sold out the 24 condominiums at Kelmscott Park, a residential community in north suburban Lake Forest. The redevelopment of a former municipal equipment storage site just north of downtown Lake Forest, Kelmscott Park offers mid-rise condominiums, apartments and single-family homes. Focus acquired the land from the city in 2016 after winning a competitive bid. The condos were priced from $650K to more than $1.1M. The project team includes Chicago-based Booth Hansen Architects and Lake Bluff, Illinois-based Mariani Landscape.
***
An 8-acre land parcel at 1104 West 43rd St. in Chicago was sold for $4M to a limited liability company. Kyle Stengle and Richard Kozarits of Marcus & Millichap marketed the property on behalf of the seller. The buyer was secured and represented by Rick Gordon of Marcus & Millichap’s Encino office.
***
Investcorp sold Oak Brook Heights, a 408-unit, garden-style multi-housing community at 201 West Oakley Drive on the border of west suburban Westmont and Oak Brook, to FPA Multifamily. A JLL team of Marty O’Connell, Kevin Girard, Matt Kafka and Matthew Lawton marketed the property on behalf of the seller.
LEASES
RT Specialty signed a multi-year lease for 83K SF on the eighth and ninth floors of 540 West Madison in the West Loop. The insurance brokerage is a division of Ryan Specialty Group, which recently completed an initial public offering through a holding company on the New York Stock Exchange. RT Specialty has increased its headcount over the past year, and this new lease doubles the space it occupied at its previous location. Landlord Third Millennium Group agreed to provide a tenant improvement allowance to support capital upgrades to the space. Savills’ Robert Sevim and Adam Southard represented RT Specialty.
***
900 North Michigan Shops signed a new lease with Royal Bee, a gift shop featuring specialty items for personal care and the home derived from bees. It is the fifth retailer to sign on at the Magnificent Mile shopping center this year. Psycho Bunny, Bubbles Academy, Reggie Hathorn and My Planet Living Center all signed deals earlier this year, and 900 North Michigan Shops, a 450K SF center located on the first seven levels of the 67-story 900 North Michigan Ave., is now 98% occupied.
***
WellRight, a software tech company focused on corporate wellness initiatives, signed a new lease for 17K SF on the 14th floor of Brookfield Properties’ 175 West Jackson Blvd. The owner repositioned the historic property by adding penthouse-level amenities including a rooftop terrace, a tenant lounge, conferencing facilities and a fitness center. Jack O’Brien, Jeff Dowdell and JD Parcheta of The Telos Group represented ownership in the transaction. Bill Sheehy of CBRE represented WellRight.
***
Datassential signed a 13K SF lease at 1201 West Lake St. in Fulton Market. Colliers Chicago’s Dougal Jeppe negotiated the long-term headquarters transaction on behalf of the company, which helps food and beverage companies use data to develop, launch and sell new concepts. Datassential will move from 18 South Michigan Ave. when the new lease starts in January 2022. Delivered in 2019, 1201 West Lake St. is a 135K SF office building wrapped in floor-to-ceiling glass. It is owned by McCaffery and New York Life. JLL’s Craig Coupe, Brad Despot and Mike Curran represented building ownership in the transaction.
FINANCING
Origin Investments, following the close of its inaugural Qualified Opportunity Zone Fund, launched a second QOZ Fund targeting $300M in funds. Origin’s QOZ Fund II will invest in ground-up multifamily development in the fast-growing U.S. markets. It already has three ground-up developments undergoing due diligence before closing. The firm’s first QOZ fund closed in August after raising $265M, and Origin projects its 11 ground-up developments will have a construction value exceeding $767M.
CONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT
Principle Construction Corp. broke ground Thursday on a new industrial facility at 3500 Wolf Road in Franklin Park near O’Hare International Airport. The 6.92-acre site will host a 100K SF distribution center, which in the future can be built-to-suit with a clear height of up to 32 feet. IDI Logistics is the developer for the project. Principle’s James Brucato is the principal on the project. Principle’s Darrin Dehmlow is the project manager and Principle’s Mark Frane is acting as the superintendent with Scott Nagel as assistant superintendent. Harris Architects provided design services for the project.
THIS AND THAT
Fifth Third Bank, National Association, and Enterprise Community Partners launched a $180M program to accelerate revitalization in nine key majority-Black communities across seven states. The community of South Chicago is one of the recipients, and Claretian Associates will lead a three-year effort to revitalize East 91st and 92nd streets. The program will include investments in small businesses, homeownership and workforce development to promote increased employment, economic stability and growth.
