ELK GROVE VILLAGE, ILL. — Brennan Investment Group has secured its first tenant at Elk Grove Technology Park in Illinois. Broetje-Automation, a specialized production processor in the aviation and aerospace industries, has signed a lease to occupy 43,206 square feet within a 151,693-square-foot building. The site will serve as the company’s U.S. headquarters and production facility for manufacturing and assembling robotic systems and automated equipment. Mike Sedjo, Jack Brennan and John Hamilton of CBRE represented Brennan in the lease transaction. Bill Lussow of Bespoke CRE represented Broetje. Phase I of Elk Grove Technology Park consists of four buildings with a total of 524,583 square feet still available for lease. Completion of the last building is slated for late summer.
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS AND WAUCONDA, ILL. — Newmark Knight Frank (NKF) has brokered the sale of two industrial properties totaling approximately 75,000 square feet in the Chicagoland area. In Arlington Heights, a private investor purchased an 18,557-square-foot facility located at 561-575 S. Arthur Ave., approximately 25 miles northwest of Chicago, for an undisclosed price. The property is fully leased to multiple tenants, including Bosch Tools. In Wauconda, One Liberty Properties purchased a 56,579-square-foot distribution facility located at 1275 Karl Court, about 45 miles northwest of Chicago. Echo Inc., a developer and manufacturer of handheld outdoor power equipment, fully occupies the property on a net lease basis. Adam Marshall and Boris Shraybman of NKF represented the private sellers in both transactions.
CHICAGO — Offshore, a 52,300-square-foot rooftop deck, has opened on the third floor of Chicago’s Navy Pier. The Guinness Book of World Records has named the establishment “the world’s largest rooftop deck.” The deck includes a bar, kitchen, terraces, seven fire pits, an entertainment and gaming area and multiple gathering spaces. Culinary direction for Offshore is led by Executive Chef Michael Shrader. Modern American cuisine is served as small, shareable plates. Clay Livingston, formerly of Red Herring Lounge and Kitchen, curates the beverage program seasonally, with house made craft cocktails, wine, champagne and local craft beer.
PROSPECT HEIGHTS, ILL. — Marcus & Millichap has arranged the $2.8 million sale of a 4,400-square-foot gas station and convenience store net leased to Thornton’s in Prospect Heights. The property is located at 1600 N. Rand Road in suburban Chicago. Thornton’s has 20 years remaining on its lease at the newly constructed property. Austin Weisenbeck and Sean Sharko of Marcus & Millichap represented the seller. The team also represented the private 1031 exchange buyer with assistance from Marcus & Millichap’s Joseph Bono.
SOUTH ELGIN, ILL. — Lee & Associates has brokered the sale of a 10,348-square-foot industrial building located at 1640 Shanahan Drive in South Elgin. The sales price was not disclosed. Jay Farnam of Lee & Associates represented the buyer, West Bank Holdings. Morken & Associates represented the undisclosed seller.
DECATUR AND GALESBURG, ILL. — Affiliates of Phoenix Investors have purchased three industrial properties totaling approximately 1.8 million square feet in Decatur and Galesburg for an undisclosed price. Located in central Illinois, the Decatur property was formerly a BorgWarner facility that spans 475,000 square feet on 56 acres. The building features 20 loading docks, 16 overhead doors and clear heights ranging from 16 to 30 feet. The two Galesburg assets were originally constructed by Maytag between 1974 and 1996 and then acquired by Whirlpool Corp.
LINCOLNWOOD, ILL. — CubeWork has signed a 202,259-square-foot industrial lease at 7080 N. McCormick Blvd. in Lincolnwood, a northern suburb of Chicago. CubeWork is an office and warehousing coworking company. The 234,000-square-foot property sits on an 8.6-acre site. The remainder of the building is leased to Service King, a national vehicle collision repair company. Steve Stone of Cushman & Wakefield represented the landlord, New Lincoln LLC. Bill Mass of Mass Realty represented CubeWork.
CHICAGO — Evergreen Real Estate Group has completed a $4 million renovation of Bethel Terrace Apartments, a 123-unit affordable seniors housing community in Chicago’s Englewood neighborhood. Evergreen Construction Co., the firm’s full-service construction arm, managed the six-month project. Evergreen also helped secure the renewal of the HUD Section 8 HAP (Housing Assistance Payment) contract, which provides tenant-based assistance, for an additional 20 years. Updates to the residential units at Bethel Terrace included new flooring and paint; new appliances, cabinetry and countertops in kitchens; new vanities and plumbing fixtures in baths; energy-efficient baseboard heaters with programmable thermostats; and LED lighting. Improvements to common areas included new paint, flooring, lighting, elevator upgrades, shared Wi-Fi and an enhanced security system. Outside, Evergreen Construction Co. completed a façade restoration and roof replacement, installed new lighting and landscaping, replaced fencing, repaired sidewalks, repaved the parking lot, and added a new garden patio with accessible seating. The Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA) provided financing for the rehabilitation. The community’s nonprofit owner is Englewood Cooperative Apartments. Bethel Terrace is connected by a ground-level corridor to the adjacent Sangamon Terrace Apartments, a four-story affordable seniors housing development that Evergreen is currently building.
CARY, ILL. — Illinois Lift Equipment Inc. has signed a 29,000-square-foot industrial lease at 675 Industrial Drive in Cary. The 53,944-square-foot facility was built in 1987. The equipment dealer, which provides forklifts and scissor lifts, currently occupies more than 75,000 square feet at 640 Industrial Drive and was seeking additional space for overflow storage. Dan Brown of Brown Commercial Group represented the landlord, DOD Technologies Inc. Brian Lindgren of Brown represented the tenant.
CHICAGO — Architecture firm Lamar Johnson Collaborative (LJC), a subsidiary of constructor Clayco, has combined with Clayco-owned architecture firm BatesForum, creating one firm of more than 240 professionals in five offices. The expanded firm has expertise in commercial, residential, multi-use, interiors, healthcare, retail, planning, landscape, education and industrial architecture. Among the firm’s unique capabilities are its technical assurance group, which consults with project teams to apply lesson from the built environment to projects still on the drawing board, and the virtual design and construction team, which provides building information modeling support. The combined firm now exceeds 200 active architecture and design projects in 24 states, while together with parent company Clayco, the overall construction value of projects exceeds $4 billion. Chicago-based Clayco acquired LJC last fall.