This Week's Chicago Deal Sheet
Pedestrian activity on State Street in October reached 62.4% of 2019 numbers, according to a report by the Chicago Loop Alliance. That is the second-highest level since July 2020, when the alliance began releasing monthly reports on downtown activity, tracking coronavirus positivity rates, pedestrian activity, parking volumes, hotel occupancy, number of office workers on-site and other metrics.
The high level of October activity is likely due to increases in office workers as well as major downtown events like the Chicago Marathon and the Arts in the Dark Halloween Parade, according to alliance officials.
“October was a very positive month for the Loop,” Chicago Loop Alliance President and CEO Michael Edwards said in a statement. “Theaters have reopened in earnest, with Broadway In Chicago’s first opening night since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic occurring on Oct. 5.”
The Halloween parade on Oct. 30 saw over 36,000 pedestrians going down State Street, a 35% week-over-week increase and a 104% increase compared to the same time in 2020. It also marked a 9% increase over the same period in 2019, according to the alliance.
In addition, Chicagoland’s office occupancy rose to 37% of normal, the highest rate since the pandemic began. That is higher than New York and San Francisco and on par with the Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., metros.
EXECS
Draper and Kramer Assistant Vice President and General Manager Colleen Needham was installed as the 2022 president of the Institute of Real Estate Management Chicago Chapter during a Nov. 10 meeting at Revolution Brewing in Chicago’s Logan Square neighborhood. Needham officially assumes her duties Jan. 1, 2022. A 20-year industry veteran, Needham joined Draper and Kramer in 2009. Since 2018, she has served as the general manager of Lake Meadows, a nine-building, 1,869-unit rental community in Chicago’s Bronzeville neighborhood that Draper and Kramer has managed for more than 65 years.
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Parker Ray joined Darwin Realty/CORFAC International as an associate broker. Ray previously worked with ABCO Electrical Construction and Design, an electrical contractor in Chicago, and is a recent graduate of the University of Iowa’s Tippie College of Business.
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CRG promoted Chicago-based Matthias Trizna from director of development to vice president of development for the Midwest and Ohio Valley regions. Trizna will oversee all stages of the firm’s industrial developments and help spearhead the sourcing of new land and development opportunities across several regional markets, including Nashville, Indianapolis, Louisville, Detroit, Minneapolis, Chicago and the Ohio Valley. He joined CRG as a construction manager in 2017 and was subsequently promoted to director of planning, design and construction, and then to director of development for the Midwest in 2020.
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Jacob Daitch joined Timber Hill Group as acquisitions associate. The private equity firm specializes in the acquisition and development of e-commerce and logistics-related industrial real estate. Daitch joins Timber Hill from Ramsay Innovations, where he worked as a senior operations coordinator.
SALES
American Landmark Properties sold off another portion of its Illinois Science + Technology Park in north suburban Skokie. It sold 4901 Searle Parkway, a 228K SF healthcare building within the park, to TopMed Realty, a Florida-based private equity firm focused on healthcare real estate. The buyer paid $36M, according to a report in Crain’s Chicago Business. In October, Chicago-based Singerman Real Estate bought 8045 Lamon Ave. and 8025 Lamon Ave., a two-building life sciences portfolio within the park, for $75M.
Sam DiFrancesca, Patrick Shields, Jaime Fink, Jeffrey Bramson, Bruce Miller and Brian Shanfeld of JLL Capital Markets represented ALP in the latest sale. 4901 Searle Parkway originally served as the headquarters to pharmaceutical giant G.D. Searle. Following a series of capital improvements, the property is now leased to NorthShore University HealthSystem.
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TA Realty sold Jefferson Business Center, a 169K SF warehouse/distribution center at 1748 Jefferson Ave. in west suburban Naperville’s High Grove Business Park, to Black Creek Group. Colliers Chicago’s Jeff Devine and Steve Disse represented TA Realty in the sale. Completed in 2019, the Class-A facility features a 32-foot clear ceiling height. The building was fully leased to four tenants at closing.
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High Street Logistics Properties sold the 611K SF 355 Logistics Center to a fund managed by a subsidiary of Ares Management Corp., which acquired Black Creek Group’s U.S. real estate investment advisory and distribution business on July 1. Cushman & Wakefield’s James Carpenter, Mike Tenteris and Adam Tyler represented Boston-based High Street Logistics Properties in the transaction. Located at 16342 and 16230 West 163rd St. in southwest suburban Lockport, the fully leased two-building industrial center includes a 309K SF building and another of 302K SF.
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Venture One Real Estate, through its acquisition fund, VK Industrial V, a partnership between Venture One and Kovitz Investment Group, closed on the acquisition of a 39K SF industrial building at 1200 Chase Ave. in northwest suburban Elk Grove Village. The property was vacant at the time of acquisition. Prior to closing, Venture One received a tax incentive for the property from Elk Grove Village. Venture One’s planned improvements include office renovations, warehouse paint, parking lot seal coating, energy-efficient warehouse lights, landscaping and façade enhancements. Justin Lerner, Joe Karmin and Ross Lehrman of Transwestern represented the seller in the transaction and will market the property for Venture One.
LEASES
Cour Pharmaceuticals signed a 14K SF expansion lease with the Illinois Science + Technology Park in Skokie. With the addition, Cour Pharmaceuticals now leases around 25K SF in the park. CBRE’s David Saad represented Cour Pharma in the transaction.
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Conor Commercial Real Estate completed Brewster Creek Commerce Center, a 436K SF speculative industrial development in northwest suburban Bartlett, and leased it to Colony Display, a Chicago-based designer, manufacturer and installer of customized consumer environments. Colony Display will use the facility for light manufacturing and warehouse/distribution space. Brad Simousek, Ryan Kehoe and Mike Plumb of Lee & Associates represented Conor in the lease transaction. Colony Display was represented by Luke Molloy, Jack Brennan and Mike Sedjo of CBRE. The design-build team of McShane Construction Co., V3 Cos. and Harris Architects provided design and construction services.
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CIM Group and Golub & Co. signed a lease with Foxtrot, the corner store, café and delivery market, for a nearly 2K SF retail space in The Shops at Tribune Tower at 429 North Michigan Ave. The Chicago-based company currently has 15 locations, including 10 stores in Chicago, and plans to open the newest location in spring 2022. The Shops at Tribune Tower consists of 50K SF of retail spaces that anchor the ground floor of the historic 36-story, 740K SF Tribune Tower at 435 North Michigan Ave.
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The Chicago office of Perkins Coie relocated in November to a new office space at 110 North Wacker Drive, where the Seattle-based law firm’s more than 250 Chicago-based attorneys and professional staff occupy three full floors of the skyscraper.
CONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT
Skender started construction on the interior build-out of the two-story, 50K SF lab and office space for Hazel Technologies, a technology company focused on extending the shelf life of fresh produce. With an anticipated completion in early spring 2022, Hazel will be one of the first two tenants to move into 320 North Sangamon, the new 13-story Fulton Market office building developed by Tishman Speyer and Mark Goodman & Associates.
Currently located at University Technology Park at Illinois Tech in Bronzeville, this move will help the firm double its local workforce to 70 people in the coming year. Skender collaborated with Tishman Speyer, Mark Goodman & Associates, tenant representative CBRE, architect Perkins&Will and engineer Cosentini Associates on this project.
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KBS completed more than $22M in upgrades at Accenture Tower, a 1.4M SF office tower in downtown Chicago owned by KBS Real Estate Investment Trust III. The firm worked with Leopardo Cos. to complete the renovations, which were designed by Chicago-based GREC Architects. Upgrades included a new office lobby, a conference center and a tenant lounge featuring an outdoor terrace. Wendy Katz and Matt Lerner of Stream Realty oversee leasing services for Accenture Tower on behalf of KBS.
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Chicago-based Belgravia Group unveiled two decorated models at its 72-unit condominium building at Triangle Square, a mixed-use development at 1701 West Webster Ave. in Chicago’s Bucktown neighborhood. The first new-construction condominium property built in the area since the adjacent North Branch Corridor was rezoned for mixed-use in 2017, Triangle Square Condominiums began welcoming first move-ins at the end of September.
The Sullivan Goulette & Wilson-designed building includes a brick, steel and glass façade. In addition to the 72 condominiums by Belgravia Group, Triangle Square includes a 300-unit apartment building by LMC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Miami-based Lennar Corp. A third Triangle Square building offering retail is planned for the future.
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Mark Goodman & Associates received final approval from the Chicago City Council to build a 16-story life sciences development at 400 North Elizabeth St. in Chicago’s Fulton Market neighborhood. Located at the corner of Elizabeth and Kinzie streets on the site of the former Lakeshore Beverage distributorship, 400 North Elizabeth St. will be one of Chicago’s first ground-up buildings designed to specifically accommodate the life sciences and biotechnology industry.
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McHugh Construction renovated more than 15K SF throughout the main and lower-level lobbies of the 20-story Orrington Plaza at 1603 Orrington in north suburban Evanston. The $1.6M project included upgrading the building’s security, fire safety and HVAC systems. On the exterior, McHugh added a new entry canopy and façade lighting.
THIS AND THAT
The Commission on Chicago Landmarks honored Cubed Construction and the team behind the Jewelers Building’s redevelopment at 15 South Wabash Ave. with its 2021 Preservation Excellence Award. Selected by the Commission on Chicago Landmarks, the awards honor projects that improve individual Chicago landmark buildings within Chicago Landmark Districts. Cubed served as general contractor alongside developers Honore Properties and Peerless Development. The renovation included refacing the limestone façade with reproduced masonry panels to match the original design from 1881, among other improvements. Designed by Adler & Sullivan and completed in 1882, it is the oldest surviving structure from the architects’ partnership.
