This Week's Chicago Deal Sheet

The Howard Hughes Corp. and Riverside Investment and Development signed international law firm Perkins Coie to a lease for 100K SF at 110 North Wacker Drive, the third lease within two months for the trophy-class building under construction and set to open in next year’s fourth quarter.

Perkins Coie, which serves many prominent brands in the tech sector, entered the Chicago market in 2002 with three lawyers and has since grown to 110 lawyers and 110 professional staff. It will occupy three and a half floors of the building beginning in late 2021.

“Our move to 110 North Wacker embodies our continued commitment and investment in the region as we position ourselves to meet the demands of our growing and modern workforce in Chicago with a new first-class, state-of-the-art office,” Perkins Coie Managing Partner Rick Sevcik said.  

Todd Lippman, Kyle Kamin and Steve Bay of CBRE represented Perkins Coie, while Riverside’s Drew Nieman and CBRE’s Sara Spicklemire represented the building’s developers.

“The sustained level of tenant interest and speed of leasing at 110 North Wacker is about as good as it gets,” Nieman said.

The developers signed up Bank of America as the lead anchor tenant in 2017, and the new agreement brings the building to nearly 60% leased.

EXECS

Caton Commercial Real Estate Group hired three brokers for its growing Chicago team. Rich Bowden and Eddie Palacios joined as commercial brokers, and Sandra True was hired as an associate broker. 

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Dave Pawelek was named president of A&A Paving Contractors Inc. He previously served as vice president after joining the Roselle, Illinois-based firm in August. Prior to joining A&A Paving, Pawelek was the executive director and partner of Always Best Care Senior Services, a home care agency. He also spent several years as the senior director of strategic alliances for the Chicago Wolves hockey team.

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Shawmut Design and Construction, a national construction management firm, appointed Kevin Waco as director of business development for its Chicago office. Prior to joining Shawmut, Waco served as business development manager for Walsh Construction, project specialist for Hooker DeJong and, most recently, as director of business development for Holabird & Root.

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Chicago-based design firm Wight & Co. added Ragan Pattison as director of its state and local government market. Most recently Will County Board chief of staff, Pattison also served as a member of the county’s board and commissioner of the Will County Forest Preserve.

LEASES

RSM US LLP expanded its footprint to 165K SF at Tishman Speyer’s CME Center. The agreement brings the property, located at 10 and 30 South Wacker in Chicago’s West Loop, to 95% occupied.

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Lee & Associates finalized a lease renewal for a 36K SF industrial space at 226 Gerry Drive in suburban Wood Dale. Lee & Associates’ Jeff Janda and Jeff Galante represented the owner, DRA Advisors. Dan Steinberg of Domain Properties represented the tenant, Advance Thermal Corp.

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Caton Commercial Real Estate Group completed a lease that will bring a fine-dining restaurant by Chicago restaurateur Amy Morton to Aurora’s downtown. This new restaurant, at 5 East Galena Blvd., will provide the cornerstone of the newly redeveloped 80K SF John C. Dunham Aurora Arts Center. Christina Caton Kitchel, a Caton partner, led the effort to identify established restaurant concepts that would help rejuvenate Aurora’s downtown.

The Aurora Arts Center renovation is a project by The Community Builders Inc., a nonprofit developer, in partnership with Paramount Theatre, the city of Aurora, Invest Aurora and the Illinois Housing Development Authority. The mixed-use development also includes loft-style apartments and a street-level art gallery.

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The developers of Lincoln Park’s Lincoln Common said they signed a lease with child care company Play2Day for 1,500 SF at 2369 North Lincoln Ave. The growing roster of Lincoln Common retailers includes the under-construction 33K SF Equinox Lincoln Common, Velvet Taco, Philz Coffee, Athletico, Compass and Kohler Waters Spa.

SALES

Essex Realty Group has been engaged to market The Homestead at 1625 Hinman Ave. in Evanston. Currently listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the boutique hotel and short-term rental consists of 35 efficiency units, 21 studio units, 35 one-bedroom units and about 4K SF of first-floor restaurant and lounge space. A purchaser could reposition it as an apartment, student housing or senior housing property, or a rebranded boutique hotel. The property is zoned R-6.

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Value Industrial Partners acquired Bowling Green Center, a 14-building office, flex and industrial complex totaling 274K SF at 245 West Roosevelt Road in suburban West Chicago. The property was 90% leased at the time of acquisition. The new owners plan improvements including new roofs, paving, landscaping and signage, and renaming the property Roosevelt Center.

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Kiser Group's Noah Birk and Aaron Sklar brokered the $905K sale of 8118-26 South Drexel Ave. in Chicago. Located in the Chatham neighborhood, the 31-unit property was purchased by 8126 South Drexel LLC, and 35% vacant at the time of sale.

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Marcus & Millichap’s Austin Weisenbeck, Barry Wolfe, Glen Kunofsky and Sean Sharko completed the sale of a new, nearly 8K SF retail property at 16473-16477 West 159th St. in Lockport, Illinois. The asset sold an out-of-state 1031 buyer for $4.2M, or 99% of list price. Aspen Dental signed a new 10-year lease while Panera Bread signed a new 15-year lease.

FINANCING

Talonvest Capital negotiated a $78M refinance bridge loan secured by eight new institutional-quality, Class-A properties for Metro Self Storage. The facilities total approximately 630K SF with five located in suburban Chicago, two in New Jersey and one in Pennsylvania. The nonrecourse, four-year loan was funded by an insurance company. The Talonvest team members representing Metro Self Storage in this assignment included Kim Leslie Bishop, Jim Davies, Tom Sherlock and Eric Snyder.

THIS AND THAT

Fifield Cos. and F&F Realty will celebrate as co-developers the grand opening of 727 West Madison — the 45-story, 492-unit luxury apartment high-rise designed by FitzGerald Associates — with a two-day series of events on June 12 and 13. Alderman Walter Burnett, along with representatives from the Hellenic Museum and the West Loop Association, will join the development team at 5:30 p.m. on June 12 for a ribbon-cutting ceremony.