This Week's Chicago Deal Sheet
School will soon be in session at the former site of the Tyson Foods headquarters after a joint venture acquired the property in the West Loop with plans to turn it into an institute for higher education.
The Community Solution Education System and The Chicago School closed on a joint acquisition of 400 S. Jefferson St., which will also house the proposed Illinois College of Osteopathic Medicine. The 247K SF facility is expected to open in 2025 and will accommodate approximately 1,800 students, faculty and staff.
The renovated space will include lecture halls, classrooms, laboratories and collaborative areas for learning and working. It will also feature spaces to host large public events and is planned as a hub to convene community leaders in mental and physical health.
“Congratulations to The Community Solution Education System and The Chicago School on the acquisition of 400 S. Jefferson Street and their unwavering commitment to our great city,” Mayor Brandon Johnson said in a press release. “I am especially excited about plans to transform spaces for community leaders in mental and physical health and plans dedicated to addressing inequities.”
PEOPLE
JPMorgan Chase tapped Michelle Herrick to serve as the deputy head of commercial real estate within the commercial banking business. In her role, Herrick will work closely with Al Brooks, head of CRE, to lead the CRE business. Herrick has worked in CRE banking for over two decades and joined the company in 2017.
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Colliers hired John Sheehan as an executive vice president with its occupier services group. Sheehan will advise corporate clients across the country, advising on real estate strategy and executing lease and sales transactions. Sheehan joins Colliers after a stint at CBRE.
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Cushman & Wakefield added Melissa Rubenstein to its team as managing director in the office tenant representation group. Before joining Cushman & Wakefield, Rubenstein was a managing director at JLL, where she represented Chicago office owners on transactions totaling more than 7M SF.
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Waterton hired Erick Harris as executive vice president and general counsel. In his role, Harris will lead the legal, risk management and compliance teams at Waterton, overseeing the company's legal strategies, managing contractual processes and ensuring compliance and ethical governance across all business practices.
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Cawley Commercial Real Estate expanded its brokerage team with two new hires. Mark Wilson joins the company as senior vice president and Allison Malzone comes on as senior associate. Wilson and Malzone will focus on buyer and tenant representation, helping businesses to find and secure office spaces, negotiate leases and lock in terms and locations.
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Mary Cook Associates promoted Sara Murray from senior designer to a newly created position of senior designer of innovation. In the role, Murray will integrate technology into the design business process, train staff, stay on top of trends, optimize internal workflows and deliver value to the company's clients. Murray joined the company in 2021.
SALES
Mid-America Real Estate Corp. brokered the sale of Oak Forest Commons, a shopping center in Oak Forest. First Tek bought the 116K SF shopping center for an undisclosed price. Mid-America Principals Rick Drogosz, Ben Wineman and Joe Girardi brokered the deal on behalf of IRC Retail Centers/DRA Advisors.
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Marcus & Millichap brokered the sale of a 14K SF retail center in Orland Park for $2.1M. Marcus & Millichap's Mitchell Kiven marketed the property on behalf of the seller and sourced the buyer. Autozone anchors the property and occupies about 60% of the plaza.
LEASES
Lee & Associates negotiated a 53K SF warehouse lease on behalf of Bullfrog International at 1320 Gateway Drive in Elgin. Lee & Associates brokers Rick Scardino, Michael Petrik and Sean Bishop represented the tenant. Cushman & Wakefield's Jeff Matella represented the landlord.
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Bell Works Chicagoland leased 14K SF of its prebuilt office suites. PartsSource, Jameson Sotheby's International Realty, Route One Group, Veregy and Essentra Components all recently inked deals to take office space on the property. Colliers International represented Bell Works Chicagoland in the deals.
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Second Horizon Capital signed Burlington to a 41K SF anchor lease inside Chicago Ridge Mall. Burlington is the first anchor tenant to move into the mall following Second Horizon's property acquisition in February.
CONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT
Skender completed construction on The Leo, a 21-story, 201K SF mixed-use multifamily tower at 741 N. Wells St. in River North. The boutique luxury rental building has 168 open-concept apartment units, including 50 studios, 101 one-bedrooms and 17 two-bedrooms. Antunovich Associates designed the building and construction began in August 2022.
