This Week's Chicago Deal Sheet
Condor Partners took another step forward in its plans to transform a pair of once-vacant factories in Pilsen into Mural Park, a creative loft office development. Maverick Commercial Mortgage Inc. has arranged a $33.8M nonrecourse bridge and construction loan for the property at 1901 South Sangamon and 1911 South Sangamon.
The loan will finance the gut renovation of two 100K SF buildings. Condor officials say the project will have a positive social impact by bringing local jobs into the Pilsen community. A Bisnow event last week was disrupted by protesters worried the development could fuel gentrification.
An East Coast mortgage REIT provided the three-year financing for the base building, tenant improvements, leasing commissions, soft cost and existing debt on the property. The process from introduction to closing took just about 90 days, according to Maverick officials.
The city of Chicago chose Mural Park as a primary destination along its new El Paseo, a 4-mile bicycle and walking “rails-to-trails” corridor connecting University Village with Pilsen and Little Village. A large public plaza featuring local art installations, community gathering amenities and year-round gardens will connect the two 100-year-old buildings.
The first two tenants include 5 Rabbit Cervecería, a Latin American-inspired small craft batch brewery and full-service restaurant. Leasing agents for the property are Transwestern’s Jeff Dowdell, Katie Steele and William Briggs.
EXECS
Mortenson is growing its national aviation business and has hired MacAdam Glinn as general manager of aviation. Chicago-based Glinn spearheads efforts to expand the company’s construction projects at U.S. airports, including work directly for the airports, with air carriers and with specialty aviation contractors. Before joining Mortenson, Glinn most recently served as senior vice president of Skanska’s South Florida operations.
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Bill Truszkowski will join MB Real Estate's brokerage team after the first of the year as senior vice president and managing director for its leasing services division. He has over 20 years of experience in Chicago commercial real estate and will, along with Mark Buth, direct activity for the division’s leasing portfolio. Prior to joining MBRE, he was a senior vice president at Telos Group where he directed property leasing for a three-building portfolio in downtown Chicago totaling 4.8M SF.
DEVELOPMENT
J.C. Anderson has completed a renovation for Kia Motors America’s training center in Lombard, Illinois. Kia selected J.C. Anderson to complete the build-out, which included the addition of a new classroom and projector room, expansion of the existing Automotive Lab, and furnishing and installing a new ramp for car access to the lab as well as renovated restrooms. The construction team was led by Project Executive Seth Erlich and Superintendent Dave Bafia. H. Hendy Associates provided architectural services.
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Officials from Lendlease, The John Buck Co. and Intercontinental Real Estate Corp., along with Chicago Deputy Mayor Robert Rivkin and other city officials, celebrated the groundbreaking of 845 West Madison, a two-tower mixed-use development in Chicago’s West Loop, on Thursday. The developers will welcome their first move-ins in summer 2020. The two 17-story towers will house a total of 586 apartments with a mix of studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom plans, plus 10K SF of retail space. The development replaces the former H2O Plus lotion and shampoo manufacturing facility on a full-block site bordered by Madison Street to the north, Monroe Street to the south, Peoria Street to the west and Green Street to the east.
LEASES
Newmark Knight Frank's Sergio Chapa and Michael Prost arranged two industrial leases in southeast Wisconsin totaling approximately 80K SF. In the first transaction, Paasche Airbrush Co. leased a 42K SF speculative building at 9511 58th Place within the Business Park of Kenosha in Kenosha. The manufacturer will relocate from 4311 North Normandy Ave. in Chicago. Chapa and Prost represented landlord Zilber Property Group, while Cushman & Wakefield’s Brett Kroner and Keith Puritz represented Paasche. In addition, Chapa and Prost advised Titan Inc. in a long-term, 37K SF lease at 1340 Grandview Parkway in Sturtevant near Racine.
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Colliers International | Chicago’s Kelly Joyce and Vern Schultz represented Venture One in its 28K SF, full-building headquarters lease to Perfect Turf. The free-standing industrial property is at 5540 Meadowbrook Court in suburban Rolling Meadows. Perfect Turf, a manufacturer and distributer of synthetic turf products, will move from 230 Gerry Drive in Wood Dale in January. The new lease represents an expansion of about 15K SF. Lee & Associates' Ken Franzese and Joe Feeney represented the tenant.
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MB Real Estate's Andrew Davidson, Jay Beadle and Craig McCaw represented PPM America in a lease extension for its suburban office at 300 North Martingale Road in Schaumburg. PPM America, an investment management firm, extended its 13K SF lease by five years. It is headquartered at 225 West Wacker in Chicago, but has had this location since March 2003.
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Ware Malcomb, an international design firm, moved into a larger office at 1315 22nd St. in suburban Oak Brook to accommodate the growth of its employee and client base in the Chicago and Midwest markets. Ware Malcomb also maintains a second office at 600 West Jackson Blvd. in Chicago.
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Molex, a manufacturer of electronic, electrical and fiber optic systems, has opened an office in Chicago’s iconic Willis Tower. Its 20K SF on the building’s 57th floor can host up to 110 employees. With this lease, Willis Tower is 94% leased. Landlord EQ Office, a company wholly owned by Blackstone’s real estate funds, has launched a $500M renovation plan for the property.
THIS AND THAT
EQ Office officials say Tone, a 30K SF full-service fitness center on the 33rd floor at the company's Willis Tower, has become one of the most utilized tenant amenities. An average of 700 Willis Tower employees exercise at Tone each day, and 25% of the 15,000 people who work in the building signed up as members for $10/month. The club opened in 2017 as part of Willis Tower’s $500M renovation project, and includes training rooms, more than 80 cardio machines and dozens of group and personal-training offerings.
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Skender last month unveiled its smart apartment prototype at its manufacturing facility on the southwest side of Chicago. The prototype demonstrates how modular design and construction has the potential to disrupt the building process by making the design, manufacture and construction of buildings safer, faster and more affordable, as well as more technology- and environmentally friendly, company officials said. The prototype, which features Google Home technology systems, is an early version of the apartment units that will be built in Skender’s factory for a building in Chicago’s West Loop early next year. President Pete Murray, CEO Mark Skender and Chief Design Officer Tim Swanson led the teams that collaborated on this product.
