This Week's Chicago Deal Sheet

The Cawthon-Labriola Group of SVN Chicago Commercial, headed by Paul Cawthon and Angelo Labriola, has been retained by the Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago to market the historic St. Adalbert’s Church complex in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood.

According to the Archdiocese, Cawthon and Labriola's main objective will be to market the site to groups with a plan to repurpose, redevelop or otherwise provide concepts "that benefit both the future of the community and the church." 

This site is composed of four main structures — the church building, the convent, the rectory and the school — with a combined 100K SF on a 2.13-acre site, and is near the 18th Street CTA Pink Line Station. 

Originally completed in 1914, the church building features twin 185-foot towers, 40-foot ceilings with a cathedral-style dome and elaborate details throughout. Henry Schlacks, who was renowned for his church work in Chicago in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, designed the structure in an Italian Renaissance style.

The church building, which is in need of extensive repair, was closed by the Archdiocese in 2016. Acero-Bartolomé Casas De Las Casa Charter School is also on the site, with a long-term lease in place. 

The nonprofit Society of St. Adalbert proposed repurposing the convent into a 40-room, B&B-style house of pilgrimage and updating the rectory into a smaller, temporary B&B-style house of pilgrimage to generate cash flow. Under the society's plan, after the convent is fully converted, the rectory would then be used to house a religious order or mission. The Archdiocese has not acted on these proposals.

According to SVN Chicago Commercial, Cawthon and Labriola were selected because of their extensive experience in the neighborhood, having completed nearly 70 transactions in the area. 

EXECS

Rod Blake, a specialist in mixed-use development, has joined Starwood Retail Partners as vice president of development. Blake will be responsible for identifying and implementing mixed-use development opportunities for Starwood Retail.

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Green Courte Partners, a Chicago-based private equity real estate investment firm, has promoted Bill Glascott to chief investment officer. Glascott, who is already on the firm’s management committee, will assume an expanded role related to planning and investment activities while continuing to oversee the company's acquisitions.

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Lee & Associates of Illinois has hired Sean Austin as a vice president. He will partner with managing broker Walter Murphy to focus on the metro Chicago big-box market, especially in the city and the I-55/I-80 submarkets. 

SALES

Marcus & Millichap has facilitated the sale of a 3,408 SF net-leased property at 2030 Skokie Valley Road in Highland Park. The property’s tenant, Chase Bank, has 15 years remaining on its 20-year ground lease. The property sold for $4.1M in an all-cash transaction to a local 1031 exchange buyer. Austin Weisenbeck and Sean R. Sharko in Marcus & Millichap’s Chicago Oak Brook office marketed the property on behalf of the seller, a developer, and represented the buyer as well. 

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Essex Realty Group has brokered the sale of 2349 West Devon Ave. for about $3M. The property is a 32-unit mixed-use building at Devon and Western avenues in Chicago's West Ridge neighborhood. Seven of the units are street-level commercial spaces (totaling about 8,097 SF) that are 100% occupied. The building has undergone various recent capital improvements, such as a new 2,400-amp electric service and a new roof.

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Interra Realty has brokered the $3.7M deconversion sale of 122-130 Callan Ave. in Evanston. The buyer plans to convert the building’s 25 condominiums back into rental units. Patrick Kennelly, managing partner of Interra, and Paul Waterloo, director, represented both the buyer and the sellers, the Evanstonian Condominium Association. The transaction marks the second condominium deconversion in Evanston so far this year, following a $4.8M sale in June that was also brokered by Interra.

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Lee & Associates has brokered a $1.24M sale of an 18K SF industrial building at 23810 Industrial Drive in Plainfield. Terry Grapenthin and Jeff Galante, principals of Lee & Associates’ Illinois office, represented the buyer, a private investor making an exchange. The buyer is also occupying the space. The firm also occupies the space. The seller, a private investor, was represented by Caton Commercial.

LEASES

Move-ins have started at The Cooper at Southbank, Lendlease's first project in the Chicago market. Located at 720 South Wells St. in the South Loop, the 29-story, 452-unit apartment tower is one of five residential buildings planned in Southbank, Lendlease’s 7-acre neighborhood development along the South Branch of the Chicago River. The Cooper offers a wide range of units, including traditional studio, convertible, one- and two-bedroom plans ranging from 451 SF to 1,104 SF and priced starting at $1,710/month. 

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Colliers International Chicago’s principal Mike Senner and Vice President Ned Frank have brokered a 119K SF lease at 4920 South Central Ave. in Chicago for Concept Laboratories Inc., a personal care and household product maker. The property at 4920 South Central is 461K SF and features 20 exterior docks, 12 interior docks and direct access to the I-55/Central four-way interchange. CBRE’s Matt Mulvihill, Mitch Adams and Cal Payne represented building ownership, Combined Warehouse Co., in the transaction.

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CBRE has represented Maven Wave in a 9K SF expansion to 19K SF at 71 South Wacker Drive in Chicago. Maven Wave, a technology consulting firm, has experienced significant growth in recent years, counting such companies as Nielsen and Crate & Barrel among its clients. 

DEVELOPMENT

Americold Realty Trust has nearly completed its new 183K SF cold-storage industrial facility in Rochelle. The building will be 140 feet high, visible from the nearby I-39 and I-88, and include a series of temperature-controlled rooms serviced by an automated storage and retrieval system. Altogether, the new facility will contain 15.5M cubic feet of automated capacity.

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The Missner Group and First Industrial Realty Trust have broken ground on a 173K SF industrial development at 1998 Melissa Lane in Aurora. The development, on a 9.7-acre site, will be designed to accommodate up to three tenants. The building will feature office to-suit, 32-foot clear heights, 22 loading docks, drive-in doors and an ESFR fire safety system.  Also, the property will offer 174 parking spaces and a 12-trailer parking lot.

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Conor Commercial Real Estate has broken ground on Bystronic's Experience Center and U.S. corporate headquarters, a 162K SF facility in Hoffman Estates. Jeff Janda and Mike Plumb of Lee & Associates’ Illinois office represented Bystronic, a laser cutting and press brake specialist, in the build-to-suit. Mike Sedjo and Jack Brennan of CBRE represented the developer. The facility is being built by McShane Construction Co. The facility was designed by Heitman Architects.