This Week's Chicago Deal Sheet

Bridge Investment Group has acquired O’Hare International Center, a pair of nine-story office towers totaling 517K SF adjacent to O’Hare International Airport, for $64M from Blackstone Group.

The deal is the seventh suburban Chicago office property sold by Blackstone in two years. Blackstone acquired O’Hare International Center from Duke Realty in 2011.

Bridge Investment Group plans more than $5M in capital improvements to the buildings, including renovations to both lobbies, a tenant amenity lounge connected to new outdoor amenity space, new spec suites and a conference center, as well as modernized corridors, restrooms and elevators. Renovations will begin in mid-October.

Originally built between 1984 and 1987, O’Hare International Center is 83% occupied. The property has undergone nearly $4M in renovations since 2012. 

Across the street, the airport is in the final stages of building a new nine-story, intermodal facility that will house all long-term parking and rental cars and offer a direct connection to the CTA Blue Line. 

“The repositioned O’Hare International Center will be a workplace campus that blends urban-style amenities with the suburban convenience,” Bridge Investment Group Managing Director Brian Tretinik said. “The O’Hare submarket currently boasts the highest Class-A rents and lowest vacancy rate in suburban Chicago.”

Leasing at O’Hare International Center will be led by Newmark Knight Frank's Rob Lundin, John Clark and John Norris.

The acquisition follows Bridge’s recent purchase of the 32-acre Lenox Park office campus in metro Atlanta, bringing the firm’s year-to-date acquisitions to nearly 4M SF of office space nationally.

EXECS

Sterling Bay has named Scott Rafferty as director of investor relations, a new role the company says signifies its continued expansion and diversification. Rafferty was previously managing director and head of investor relations at Citadel in Chicago. At Sterling Bay, he will lead initiatives to deploy capital in existing and future investments.

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Architecture firm Gensler has hired Kristen Conry to join Todd Heiser and Brian Vitale as co-managing directors of the Chicago office. They are responsible for running the Chicago office, which is staffed with 320 architects, designers and planners.

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Morgan/Harbour Construction has named Alexander Olen as preconstruction manager. Olen will work with clients and project teams through the decision, planning and buyout phases of projects.

SALES

Cabot Properties and joint venture partner Globe Corp. acquired Northwest Pointe II for $29.8M from Conor Commercial Real Estate. The 385K SF industrial building is on a 22-acre parcel near Galvin and Higgins roads in the Northwest Corporate Park in Elgin. JLL's John Huguenard and Ed Halaburt teamed with Lee & Associates' Ken Franzese and John Cassidy to represent Conor in the sale. Northwest Pointe II was recently 100% leased to Box Partners.

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Essex Realty Group's Jordan Gottlieb and Brian Mond brokered the sale of 5417 South Drexel Ave. in Chicago’s Hyde Park neighborhood for $1.4M. The property is an eight-unit apartment building two blocks east of Washington Park and less than a mile north of the University of Chicago. There were 14 property tours with multiple offers in a two-month period, according to the brokers.

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Montreal-based Ivanhoé Cambridge has acquired Callahan Capital Properties, a real estate private equity firm based in Chicago, for an unspecified price. Eastdil Secured facilitated the transaction.

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The Boulder Group has brokered the sale of a single-tenant net leased Jewel-Osco property at 655 Main St. NW in Bourbonnais for $12.3M. The 62K SF building was renovated in 2016 and features a drive-thru pharmacy. The tenant, Albertsons, has 20 years remaining on its lease.

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Marcus & Millichap's Eric Bell facilitated the sale of a 34-unit apartment at 5629 West Madison St. in Chicago for about $1.5M. Known as Madison Renaissance, the building is a low-income housing tax credit property with a mix of one-, two-, three-we and four-bedroom units. Separately, Marcus & Millichap facilitated the sale of a 30-unit apartment property at 353 West Hawthorne Circle in Mt. Prospect for $2.65M.

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Florida-based Sterling Organization has acquired two shopping centers totaling 266K SF in metro Chicago. The portfolio includes Hillside Town Center in Hillside and Prairie Market in Oswego, and was purchased on behalf of Sterling Organization’s institutional fund, Sterling Value Add Partners III.

LEASES

TTX Co. has leased 103K SF at 101 North Wacker in Downtown Chicago. The deal ensures that the railcar owner and manager will remain one of the building’s largest tenants. JLL's Melissa Rubenstein and Kim Doyle represented ownership. CBRE's Todd Lippman, Jim Whalen, Jon Milonas and Bill Sheehy represented TTX.

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NAI Hiffman's Jeff Fischer secured an expansion for JBS Logistics & Warehousing at 999 Bilter Road in Aurora. The company will now occupy the entire 382K SF of building. The facility features 30-foot ceilings, 68 dock doors and rack storage for over 40,000 pallet positions. JBS, a division of Stan Koch & Sons Trucking, provides storage and fulfillment services. The landlord is Liberty Property Trust.

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Champion Athleticwear has opened its first store in Chicago and its third overall. The 1,900 SF shop is at 1520 North Milwaukee Ave. in Wicker Park, and offers customers the opportunity to interact with the company's products. Champion’s heritage is showcased throughout the store, with artifacts on display within fixtures developed from recycled wood made from reclaimed basketball courts.

DEVELOPMENT

The Foglia Foundation Health and Recreation Center at Harper College has reopened its doors after an extensive renovation of the 40-year-old building overseen by Harper, the Palatine Park District and Northwest Community Healthcare. The Palatine Park District contributed $9M toward the $41M renovation, which kept Harper from permanently closing its indoor pool. The park district will run the pool operations and provide aquatic, dance, sports and fitness programming. Also in the facility is the NCH Outpatient Care Center, a 10K SF care center offering primary care, immediate care, occupational health and physical therapy. Mortensen did the construction, while Cannon Design was the architect.

THIS AND THAT

Most Illinois real estate brokerage and related licenses may now be applied for and renewed via the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation’s Online Services Portal, according to the agency. Beginning Oct. 1, IDFPR will no longer accept paper applications for real estate licenses that have already been migrated online.

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Waterton Chairman and CEO David Schwartz has been inducted into the Chicago Association of Realtors Hall of Fame. Schwartz joins such real estate luminaries as Marshall Bennett, Dan Levin, Arthur Rubloff and Sam Zell.