This Week's Chicago Deal Sheet

After Google’s recent decision to expand its Fulton Market presence by taking 132K SF at Sterling Bay’s 210 North Carpenter, just one block south of its massive 1K Fulton headquarters, it is no surprise other developers see opportunities on the surrounding streets.

Murphy Development Group just closed on the site and a construction loan to develop a building at 318 North Carpenter, directly across the street from Google’s headquarters.

The property was purchased from New York City-based Madison Capital, and the $35.4M construction loan comes from CIBC Bank USA. 

Equity partners MDG and Creek Lane Capital brought on Hartshorne Plunkard Architecture as the architect, and Walsh Construction as general contractor. MB Real Estate will lease and manage the building.

The new structure will include modern interior finishes, a traditional exterior design that meshes with the neighborhood's industrial look, and provide 90K SF of offices on 15K SF floor plates, some with private terraces. The developers will also include a tenant lounge, fitness center, rooftop deck, bike storage and underground parking.

"Fulton Market is one of the fastest-growing, most dynamic commercial districts in the country, which continues to present significant opportunities for developers," MDG Chairman and CEO John Murphy said. 

The partners will begin construction in mid-April, and plan to finish by mid-2020. Mark Buth, Karoline Eigel and Kelsey Morgan of MBRE will handle leasing. 

EXECS

CenterPoint Properties brought on Carmine Bottigliero as vice president of development in its Central Region. In partnership with the firm’s development group, Bottigliero will lead new projects in CenterPoint’s Joliet and Elwood intermodal parks. Prior to joining CenterPoint, he worked for F.H. Paschen, Epstein and, most recently, Clayco. 

LEASES

On behalf of AEW Capital Management, JLL signed a deal with Upwork, a global freelancing website, for 68K SF at 525 West Van Buren. Melissa Rubenstein and Gary Kostecki led the JLL team. Cresa’s Allen Rogoway, Janna Luce and Eric Nolin represented Upwork.

AEW purchased the 16-story property in 2015 from a venture of New York-based Northwood Investors. Completed in 2002, the 520K SF office tower was designed by OWP/P Architects. This year, AEW plans to add high-end finishes to the lobby and install a floating stairwell to connect it to the mezzanine.

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Savills Studley completed a 43K SF headquarters lease for medical technology company Intelligent Medical Objects at O’Hare Gateway Office Center, a 350K SF Class-A office complex at 9600 West Bryn Mawr Drive in Rosemont. The company will relocate in the second quarter from 60 Revere Drive in Northbrook.  

It is another coup for the O’Hare submarket, which continues attracting firms that want to stay in the suburbs, but still have access to young, urban talent that rides the Blue Line to work. IMO will be the first tenant to occupy the building after an extensive renovation.

Savills Studley’s Jon Azulay and Robert Sevim advised IMO, along with Adam Southard, Rich Dale and Loredana Perri, who will oversee the firm’s build-out and relocation. Cushman & Wakefield’s Dan Svachula and Jim Ward lead the property’s leasing team.

SALES

Essex Realty Group brokered the $5.8M sale of 4400 North Magnolia Ave. for The Sellers, a private real estate fund. The 36-unit apartment building is in the Sheridan Park section of the Uptown neighborhood. Joe Scheck and Steven Livaditis of Essex said they procured more than 20 property tours and several written offers. Matt Feo represented the ultimate purchaser, a local real estate company. 

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Millennium Properties R/E brokered the purchase of a former Ultra Foods site in Downers Grove for $2.7M. Daniel Hyman secured a stalking horse buyer for the property through a court-ordered auction. The 79K SF building, located at 1212 75th St., sits on nearly 10 acres in a heavily populated retail district. Dowd, Dowd & Mertes’ Drake Mertes served as legal counsel for the buyer, and Fox Rothschild’s Robert Glantz represented the seller.

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FPA Multifamily purchased The Commons at Town Center, a fully leased luxury residential and retail property at 1255 Town Center in suburban Vernon Hills. It consists of 85 residential units and more than 10K SF of ground-floor retail. Completed in 2010, the six-story property is just northwest of Highway 45 and North Milwaukee Ave. HFF’s Wick Kirby, Sean Fogarty, Marty O’Connell and Kevin Girard marketed the property on behalf of the seller, Inland Residential Properties Trust, and procured the buyer.

CONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT

Evergreen Real Estate Group celebrated the grand opening of the Independence Branch Library at 4024 North Elston Ave. in Chicago’s Irving Park neighborhood. It built the library, one of the city's two co-located library/senior housing developments, in partnership with the city of Chicago, the Chicago Housing Authority and the Chicago Public Library.

The Independence Apartments, located above the library, consist of 44 senior residences. In addition to the library, amenities will include a fitness room and an outdoor terrace. Evergreen expects the first residents to move in by spring. 

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Serving as interior construction manager, Skender, along with Partners by Design and ConopCo Project Management, completed construction of ShopRunner’s new 25K SF corporate headquarters at 350 North Orleans. The multi-retailer e-commerce startup relocated from 350 North LaSalle. The open floor plan features a town hall space and conference room that can combine to allow for all-hands meetings and events.

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There hasn’t been a new residential building constructed along the lakefront from Oak Street to North Avenue since the early 1980s, but Draper and Kramer just started pre-leasing for its 61 Banks St., an eight-story rental building at Banks Street and Lake Shore Drive. Designed by architecture firm Booth Hansen, the 58-unit building fills the last undeveloped lakefront parcel in the Gold Coast neighborhood. Apartments will cost at least $7,200 per month, and the company expects new residents to begin arriving in May.

THIS AND THAT

Choose DuPage Economic Development Alliance released its 2018 Annual Economic Indicators Report, showing the county put together solid performances in several sectors. It had the lowest unemployment rate in the Chicago region at 2.9%, the office vacancy rate dropped in the past year from 15.8% to 14.2% and the industrial vacancy rate fell from 5.1% to 4.4%, one of the lowest in the region, the data shows.

Developers broke ground on a number of spec industrial buildings in the county, including the North Avenue Commerce Center in Winfield and Bridge Point Downers Grove, according to the report. Combined, these developments will bring DuPage an additional 1M SF of industrial space.

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Rent increases in Chicago outpaced the national average, according to RentCafé, which released its monthly rent report on the 252 largest U.S. cities. Chicago rates rose 5% since last January, while the national average hit $1,420, a 3.3% increase. Las Vegas led the way with an 8.3% increase, followed by other Sun Belt cities like Phoenix (7.6%), Los Angeles (6%), Jacksonville (5.9%), Atlanta (5.6%) and Austin (5.6%).

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BOMA/Chicago recently chose the winners of its Gold Circle Awards, which honor individual excellence within Chicago’s commercial real estate community. The winners are:

• Property Management Professional of the Year: Nick Picerno, JLL.
• Building Engineer of the Year: Michael Moriarty, CBRE.
• Security Professional of the Year: Jacqueline Davis, Zeller Realty Group and SecurAmerica.
• Emerging Leader of the Year: Tyler Kethcart, JLL.
• Affiliate Member of the Year: Craig Sieben, AECOM.