This Week's Chicago Deal Sheet
Even though investors and brokers continue the hunt for workable condo deconversion deals in Chicago, the suburbs also abound with opportunities. 33 Realty, a Chicago-based firm, represented an unnamed buyer in its $15.2M acquisition of a 79-unit condo building at 932 Pleasant in suburban Oak Park from The Pleasant Court Condominium Association.
The buyer, a family office looking to increase its holdings in suburban infill markets, will convert the building into apartments and embark on a major value-add renovation to maximize rents.
“932 Pleasant presented an excellent opportunity for our client to acquire a well-located residential property with access to multiple transportation options,” 33 Director of Investment Brokerage Sean Connelly said.
The buyer also enlisted 33’s sister company Cubed Construction to handle the estimated $3M renovation project. The company plans to maintain the building’s charm while expanding units, upgrading interiors to condo quality and modernizing common areas.
33 will oversee the community throughout the renovation and manage the building when Cubed completes it in spring 2020.
33 Realty's John Meyer and Connelly represented the buyer. Aaron Zeitner of Keller Williams Realty represented the homeowner's association.
EXECS
Brendan Hill joined ML Realty Partners as acquisition director. Hill will oversee acquisitions and redevelopment opportunities throughout Chicagoland. He has 15 years of commercial real estate experience, most recently as a senior associate broker with Nicolson, Porter & List. Hill holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of Dayton’s School of Business Administration.
LEASES
Chicago-based USG Corp. considered leaving its longtime global headquarters at 550 West Adams St., but decided to secure a 10-year lease extension. The building materials manufacturer occupies 220K SF on floors 11 through 18.
Cushman & Wakefield’s Chris Wood, David Stefancic and Brian Duffy represented the tenant. Joy Jordan and Emily Marquardt of Telos Group represented the landlord, GLL Real Estate Partners. Cushman & Wakefield will also provide project management services to USG as part of a headquarters renovation.
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Savills Studley completed 49 transactions, totaling 1.3M SF, in Chicago’s central business district and surrounding suburbs in Q4. Tenants’ preference for newly developed space played a major role in this activity, according to company officials, while suburban corporate relocations to Chicago created opportunities for suburban tenants seeking affordable spaces.
Jon Azulay, Joe Learner and Robert Sevim, for example, arranged a 103K SF lease at 2355 Waukegan Road in the Bannockburn Lakes complex on behalf of Stericycle. Sevim and John Goodman helped EN Engineering renew its 80K SF lease at 28100 Torch Parkway in Warrenville — one of the largest suburban deals completed in the fourth quarter.
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Kin Insurance is the latest tech company to use shared offices as a launching pad. The firm, founded in 2016, uses proprietary technology to customize home insurance policies, and in January moved from three shared offices across 3K SF in two separate buildings to 21K SF at 55 West Monroe, its first Chicago headquarters. The firm sublets from Snapsheet, a tech-based insurance claims provider. CBRE’s Brad Serot and Tony Coglianese represented Kin.
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EQ Office signed a deal with Tressler, a Chicago-based national law firm, to relocate it from Willis Tower’s 22nd floor to a 42K SF office on the 61st. The company has called Willis Tower home since 1993. Partners by Design helped create a space with modern amenities like wellness rooms for nursing mothers, teaming rooms for collaboration, standing desks, an event space and a shared kitchen.
SALES
Newmark Knight Frank orchestrated two industrial investment sales totaling approximately 196K SF in DuPage County. The buildings are valued at more than $11M. In the first transaction, NKF’s Elise Couston, Adam Marshall and Boris Shraybman arranged the sale-leaseback of 1005 North Commons Drive, a 140K SF Class-A warehouse in Aurora. NKF represented the seller and tenant, Import Logistics Inc. A local private investor paid an undisclosed amount.
Marshall and Shraybman also completed the sale of 466 Vista Ave. in suburban Addison, on behalf of a private owner. Venture One Real Estate acquired the 56K SF facility, leased to E & C Custom Plastic, for $2.4M.
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Record low vacancy rates in Central DuPage County led Venture One to sell a newly completed 81K SF logistics facility at 845 Larch Ave. in Elmhurst to Alpha Industrial for an undisclosed price. Colliers International | Chicago’s Jeff Devine and Steve Disse represented Venture One. At the time of sale, the facility had 56K SF available.
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Cannon Commercial Management sold Jeffrey Plaza, a 113K SF retail center at 7131 South Jeffrey Blvd. in Chicago, to Shop and Save, which will fill the anchor space vacated by Dominick’s. The property kept its small-scale retailers, and has long-term leases with Chase, H&R Block, Papa John’s and others. Keely Polczynski of CBRE represented Cannon.
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Marcus & Millichap brokered the $11.5M sale of a three-building industrial portfolio in suburban Chicago. Jordan Goodman, Matt Fitzgerald and Jeff Rowlett represented the seller, a special servicer. All three properties sold at auction to a mix of local and out-of-state institutions. Each building had a different purchaser. The assets are:
- 5555 West 73rd St., a 160K SF net-leased property in Bedford Park occupied by Packaging Corporation of America, that sold for $5M.
- 901-929 AEC Drive, a 60K SF Wood Dale property that sold for $3.9M.
- 1300 Morse Ave., a 49K SF net-leased property in Elk Grove Village, that sold for $2.6M.
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Chicago-based Belgravia Group began pre-construction sales for its 66 condominiums at Triangle Square, a mixed-use development in Chicago’s East Bucktown neighborhood. The company begins construction this fall, and opened a sales gallery at 2131 North Damen Ave., a quarter-mile from the development at 1701 West Webster Ave. Prices for two-bedroom residences in the seven-story, masonry and glass building will start at $495K, and at $695K for three-bedroom units. The development will also include 300 apartments by LMC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Miami-based Lennar Corp.
CONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT
Skender, along with architecture firm Perkins+Will, completed construction of Aspen Dental’s new 50K SF Midwest headquarters in the Art Deco building vacated by Sterling Bay at 1040 West Randolph. To accommodate a practice support center and 250 employees, the two-story build-out includes a state-of-the-art training center, a custom coffee bar, an open café and a catering kitchen space.
FINANCING
Preservation of Affordable Housing, a national nonprofit organization, will soon begin renovating the Johnson Butler-Lindon Apartments at 6230 South Dorchester Ave. in Chicago’s Woodlawn neighborhood. Associated Bank provided a $7M construction loan and placed $13M in low-income housing tax credit equity for the project. The Illinois Housing Development Authority issued the tax credits, and Associated partnered with Boston Capital to provide the equity.
Mattie Butler and Woodlawn East Community and Neighbors renovated the historic 106-unit complex in the 1990s. In late 2017, Butler sold it to POAH, which will complete its renovation by the second quarter of 2020. Krista Casper with Associated handled the loan arrangements, and Teresa Rubio managed the equity investment.
THIS AND THAT
Tenants leased nearly 13M SF of office space in the CBD in 2018. Office sales also spiked last year in Chicago and the suburbs, increasing 69% to $3.2B, and 71% to $4.8B, respectively, by November.
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Officials from Inland Real Estate Income Trust said they will move toward a liquidity event, most likely through a listing on a public securities exchange, in the next 24 to 36 months or sooner, market conditions permitting. The strategic plan centers around selling off certain non-core assets and redeploying capital into grocery-anchored centers. The trust owns 59 retail properties in 24 states, totaling more than 6M SF.
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Flexible office space across Illinois grew 19% year over year, and Chicago now has 125 centers with an average cost per desk of $823, the most expensive in the Midwest, according to research from flexible workspace specialist The Instant Group.
