This Week's Chicago Deal Sheet

Fulton Market’s residential boom seems set to continue. Chicago-based developer Sterling Bay and Ascentris, a Denver-based real estate private equity firm, formed a joint venture to develop 160 North Morgan St., a 29-story Class-A residential tower approved by the Chicago City Council in October.

It will feature 254 market-rate residential units, 28 affordable units, 89 parking spaces, more than 2K SF of ground-floor retail and an amenity package, including a private outdoor amenity deck, fitness center and rooftop pool.  

“The city is experiencing a boom in modern, highly amenitized residential development, a niche that Sterling Bay has become known for in its development of future-forward spaces like McDonald’s Global Headquarters and Google’s Midwest Headquarters,” Sterling Bay CEO Andy Gloor said in a statement.  

Designed by bKL Architecture, 160 North Morgan St. will feature glass, masonry and metal construction that will help it integrate with the neighborhood’s character as a former industrial meatpacking district, Gloor added.

The development team expects to break ground this quarter and complete construction in Q4 2023.

EXECS

Transwestern Real Estate Services added Jenné Myers to the firm’s Tenant Advisory + Workplace Solutions group as senior vice president of strategic solutions. The Chicago-based Myers will serve clients nationwide, providing tenant representation and advisory services for real estate occupiers, with an emphasis on nonprofits, government organizations and corporations. Myers joins Transwestern after eight years as the CEO of Chicago Cares, a nonprofit organization that connects volunteers with opportunities across the city.

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Clear Height Properties named Jed Degnan its new director of acquisitions as the company looks to expand its portfolio of industrial and office properties in the Chicago metro area and across select Midwest markets. Most recently, Degnan was director of acquisitions for Midwest Industrial Funds.

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Elisabeth Lazzara joined Entre Commercial Realty as an associate broker working with the team of Mike DeSerto and Cory Kay. Her focus is on sales and leasing of industrial properties in the DuPage and Kane County submarkets. Prior to joining Entre, Lazzara served as an asset manager and property manager for Karael Management Inc. where she oversaw a multibuilding industrial portfolio throughout the Chicagoland.

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Multifamily brokerage firm Essex Realty Group hired industry veteran Rick Ofman. Prior to joining Essex, Ofman worked at a Chicagoland multifamily brokerage where he facilitated the sale of over $140M in multifamily real estate sales.

SALES

Chicago-based Hubbard Street Group, Centrum Realty & Development and Pine Grove Partners sold 229 Park, a four-story, 43-unit mixed-use property at 229 Park Ave. in west suburban Clarendon Hills’ downtown, to Chicago-based HP Ventures Group for $19.35M. Interra Realty’s Craig Martin and Lucas Fryman represented both the sellers and the buyer. Built in 2018, 229 Park includes one retail space, currently occupied by Moda Eyecare, along with 16 one-bedroom units, 19 two-bedrooms and seven live-work townhomes. The units were fully occupied at the time of sale.

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29th Street Capital sold 5736 South Stony Island Ave. in Chicago’s Hyde Park neighborhood to a confidential buyer for $10.6M. 29th Street bought the property in 2017 and during the past four years added a new tear-off roof, internet-based intercom system, wireless internet and bike room, as well as remodeling the laundry facilities and updating the stairwells. It also renovated 59 of its 75 units. Interra Realty’s Martin and Fryman also brokered the sale. New ownership intends to renovate the final 16 units. Built in 1924, the property includes 43 studios, 29 one-bedrooms and three two-bedrooms. The apartments were 96% occupied at the time of sale.

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A limited liability company sold Parkland Preparatory Academy, a 20K SF net-leased property at 2220 Southwind Blvd. in northwest suburban Bartlett, to another limited liability company for $7.1M. Jeff Rowlett of The Rowlett Group in Marcus & Millichap’s Milwaukee office marketed the property on behalf of the seller. The buyer was secured and represented by Rowlett and Matthew Gordon, also of Marcus & Millichap’s Milwaukee office. Parkland Preparatory Academy was built to suit in 2020, and there are about 14 years remaining on the lease term.

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Courtland Court LLC sold a mixed multi-tenant, 83K SF industrial portfolio at 1765-1795 Courtland Court in northwest suburban Addison to Clear Height Properties. Avison Young’s Erik Foster, Mike Wilson, Adam Haefner, Zeke Rowan and Martin Mikaitis represented the seller. Over the past 18 months, more than 22K SF have been leased, increasing the portfolio’s occupancy to 81%.

Clear Height Properties also acquired the 31K SF vacant industrial building at 345 South Fairbank St. in Addison and has begun redeveloping the property, originally developed in 1973. The company intends to market it for either lease or sale as a single-tenant asset. Transwestern represented the seller of the property and is marketing the property. The purchase price of the asset wasn't disclosed.

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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 vacant 7.37-acre industrial outdoor storage site at 1798 Hagemann Drive in west suburban Batavia. The property includes a nearly 12K SF truck repair/maintenance facility with more than 120 trailer positions. Venture One plans to install two drive-in repair bays, renovate the existing 4K SF of office, pave the entire site, install energy-efficient lights throughout the parking lot and fence in the premises. David Prell and Ted Gates of CBRE represented the seller in the transaction and will market the property for Venture One.

LEASES

Duke Realty Corp. secured two lease agreements that have helped the company achieve 100% occupancy of its 17.4M SF in-service Chicago portfolio. Additionally, the company has four development projects under construction in the market totaling 2.5M SF. Goodwill Industries signed a lease for 198K SF at 1341 Enterprise Drive in southwest suburban Romeoville and agreed to expand into the entire 324K SF by 2023. Kris Bjorson, Dan McGillicuddy, Bill Spaulding and Sam Brashler at JLL served as the tenant representatives, and Traci Buckingham and Stephanie Park at CBRE represented Duke Realty in lease negotiations.

Duke Realty also inked a deal with Southwire Co., a wire and cable producer, for 83K SF at 430 Kimberly Drive in west suburban Carol Stream. Adam Marshall at Newmark served as the tenant representative, and Doug Pilcher at Cushman & Wakefield represented Duke Realty in lease negotiations.

Duke Realty has the following developments under construction:

• A 1.2M SF e-commerce fulfillment center for Wayfair at Airport Logistics Center Phase II in Romeoville.
• A 622K SF build-to-suit facility in southwest suburban Bedford for a national home improvement retailer.
• A 370K SF speculative development at 10000 Woodward Ave. in west suburban Woodridge.
• A 299K SF facility in west suburban Bellwood pre-leased to a snack food manufacturer.

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Quantum computing startup EeroQ said it was moving its headquarters to Chicago after a national search, according to a report in Built In. But instead of selecting a downtown site, the company agreed to be the first tenant for The Terminal development in Humboldt Park, a trio of buildings where the Pyle-National Co. used to manufacture locomotive headlights. It will occupy a more than 9K SF engineering lab and office in the 175K SF main building at 1334 North Kostner Ave.

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Dayton Street Partners, a Chicago-based real estate investment and development firm, signed two leases totaling 29K SF in its three-building logistics park at 2217 South Loomis St. in Chicago. Meade signed on for 25K SF, and Central States Trucking, a division of Forward Air, leased about 4K SF on 3 acres. The transactions bring the property to 100% leased. CBRE’s Kevin Segerson and Philip DeBoer represented Forward Air in the transaction, while Peter Poulos with Peter J. Real Estate represented Meade.

FINANCING

Chicago-based Evergreen Real Estate Group secured financing for Green Oaks of Valparaiso, a three-story, 120-unit assisted living community for low-income seniors at 2550 Morthland Drive in Valparaiso, Indiana. Evergreen Construction Co., a division of Evergreen Real Estate Group, will serve as general contractor on the development and plans to begin preliminary site work this month. Green Oaks of Valparaiso will welcome its first residents in early 2023.

The $30M project will offer 48 studio and 72 one-bedroom apartments, all of which will be reserved for seniors age 62 or older, with incomes at or below 60% of the area median income. The Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority authorized 4% Low-Income Housing Tax Credits in support of the project. In addition, the city of Valparaiso issued tax-exempt bonds, which were sold by Piper Sandler Cos., providing debt financing. PNC Bank invested in the project, providing LIHTC equity.

THIS AND THAT

According to MBRE’s Q4 report on the office market, there was a total of 392K SF of negative absorption in Chicago’s suburbs, bringing the year-to-date negative absorption total to 1.9M SF. The overall direct vacancy rate in the suburbs increased by 32 basis points to 23.1% at the end of Q4, up from 22.7% at the end of Q3. The total vacancy rate, including sublease space, increased by 35 basis points to 26.4%.