CHICAGO — SunTrust Banks Inc. has provided a $10.6 million bridge loan for the acquisition and deconversion of Cambridge Commons in Chicago. Built in 1970, the property was renovated in 2000. After the closing on July 23, all of the units became apartment rentals. Manny Brown and John Gordon of SunTrust originated the loan on behalf of the borrower, a private equity firm. Areas such as Chicago are seeing more condo deconversions because it is difficult to find land for new developments to meet the rising demand for multifamily properties, according to Gordon. Under the Condominium Property Act in Illinois, condo unit owners can elect to sell a condo property if 75 percent or more are in agreement.
Illinois
STICKNEY, ILL. — Wool Finance Partners has arranged a $4.5 million loan for the refinancing of Pershing Terminal in Stickney, about 10 miles southwest of Chicago. The fully leased property includes a 25,000-square-foot cross dock facility and a 13,000-square-foot maintenance facility on a 10-acre site. A West Coast-based life insurance company provided the loan. The undisclosed borrower obtained a lender environmental insurance policy, which insures the lender for any remediation costs in the event of a borrower default. The loan is fully amortized over 25 years and includes a fixed interest rate of 5.1 percent for the first seven years.
CHICAGO — McDonald’s has opened its newly designed flagship restaurant at Clark and Ontario streets in Chicago. The modern and environmentally friendly design features self-order kiosks, table service, mobile order and payment and delivery. The 19,000-square-foot restaurant includes green spaces and energy-saving features such as a vegetated rooftop, on-site solar panel array for renewable energy collection, LED lighting and more than70 trees at the ground level. Chicago-based Ross Barney Architects designed the restaurant, which is set to operate seven days a week and 24 hours a day. Sydney-based Landini Associates designed the interiors. The new restaurant replaces the previous flagship restaurant, which was a rock ‘n’ roll-themed restaurant that closed in December 2017.
CHICAGO — HFF has arranged a $30.5 million loan for the refinancing of Kinzie Hotel, a 215-room boutique hotel in Chicago’s River North. Constructed in 2003 as an Amalfi Hotel, the property was renovated and transformed into the Kinzie Hotel in 2014. The hotel, which occupies the first six floors of a 385,000-square-foot Class A office building, has its own lobby entrance and elevators on the first floor. Other hotel features include a lounge, fitness center and 2,300 square feet of meeting space. Danny Kaufman, Jeff Bucaro and Nicole Aguiar of HFF arranged the loan on behalf of the borrower, a joint venture between Bixby Bridge Capital LLC and Urbana Holdings LLC. Annaly Commercial Real Estate Group Inc. provided the three-year, floating-rate loan. Proceeds from the loan were used to refinance the existing mortgage in conjunction with installing Urbana Varro as the new hotel management company.
ELGIN, ILL. — TLC Industries has signed a 51,600-square-foot industrial lease in Elgin. A contract woodshop for the arcade and gaming industry, TLC will occupy the entire property at 1270 Abbott Drive. Jay Farnam of Lee & Associates represented TLC in the lease transaction. Brian Kling and John D’Orazio of Colliers International represented the undisclosed landlord.
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, ILL. — Stan Johnson Co. has arranged the sale of a 111,667-square-foot industrial building in Arlington Heights for $11.4 million. The two-tenant property is located at 545 E. Algonquin Road. Quality assurance company Intertek leases 85 percent of the building and has self-funded a specialized interior build-out. A data center operator occupies the remaining 15 percent of the property. John Zimmerman and Craig Tomlinson of Stan Johnson represented the seller, a joint venture between Minneapolis-based Biynah Partners and Baltimore-based Alex Brown Realty. New York-based Crystal Acquisitions purchased the asset.
CHICAGO — Essex Realty Group has brokered the sale of an 86-unit apartment building in Chicago’s Hyde Park for $9.1 million. The property, located at 6140 S. Drexel Ave., includes a fitness center, leasing office, party room and parking for 90 cars. Doug Fisher and Vic Ciancetta of Essex brokered the transaction. An out-of-state buyer purchased the asset.
CHICAGO — Aries Conlon Capital has rebranded to Mag Mile Capital and is relocating its Chicago headquarter offices from River North to the 84th floor of Willis Tower. Rushi Shah will continue to serve as principal and CEO and retain the same sales team, pipeline and national commercial mortgage and investment banking platform. Shah bought out his partners’ interest in the company to become majority owner. Previous partners include Neil Freeman and Sean Conlon of Aries Capital LLC and Conlon and Co., respectively. The name change is a nod to Chicago’s Magnificent Mile on North Michigan Avenue.
DOWNERS GROVE, ILL. — JLL has arranged a $63 million loan for the acquisition of Executive Towers West, a three-building office campus totaling 682,502 square feet in Downers Grove. Developed between 1983 and 1987, the buildings are located at 1431, 1411 and 1400 Opus Place, approximately 23 miles west of Chicago. Adam Schwartz, Brett Rosenberg and Patrick Heitmann of JLL arranged the loan on behalf of the borrower, Group RMC. Morgan Stanley provided the loan.
CHICAGO — Spaces Real Estate has opened a new 4,000-square-foot office in Chicago’s West Loop. This is the second and largest office for the full-service real estate brokerage firm, which specializes in apartment leasing. The company, which also assists in buying and selling single-family homes, will maintain its 2,000-square-foot office in Lakeview. Spaces worked with Rieke Office Interiors on the design of the West Loop location, which is a loft office with open lounge areas and a central kitchen. The new office will serve as the headquarters for the Elevated Spaces division, which was launched nearly two years ago to serve the high-end downtown rental market.