CHICAGO — Trammell Crow Co. (TCC) has inked leases with three tenants at 400 North Aberdeen within its Fulton Labs campus in Chicago’s Fulton Market neighborhood. The leases total approximately 40,000 square feet and include extensions and expansions from Portal Innovations and Chan Zuckerberg Biohub Chicago and a headquarters relocation for P33 Chicago. All three tenants are expected to occupy their new spaces by this summer. Portal Innovations is a venture development platform that invests financial, physical and human capital to fuel life sciences breakthroughs. The company has extended its existing lease of 40,000 square feet and grown its footprint to 53,000 square feet, expanding to the 10th floor. Portal’s expansion at its flagship location will help accommodate its growing portfolio, which now includes more than 50 companies. Portal also operates labs in Atlanta, Boston and Houston, and is opening a new lab in partnership with the University of Chicago in Hyde Park Labs. CZ Biohub Chicago is a biomedical research institute led by Shana Kelley, Ph.D and launched by Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg’s Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. Opened in 2024, the organization has extended its existing lease of 28,000 square feet and expanded to 41,000 square feet. The expansion …
Illinois
TINLEY PARK, ILL. — Marcus & Millichap has brokered the $5.8 million sale of an 11-suite retail center in the Chicago suburb of Tinley Park. The property is situated on 3.5 acres at 7301 183rd St. Key tenants include Buffalo Wild Wings, which recently signed a seven-year lease extension and invested $600,000 in renovations, and Pop’s Italian Beef, which has operated at the location for 16 years. Adrian Mendoza, Sean Sharko and Austin Weisenbeck of Marcus & Millichap represented the seller, a family partnership, and procured the buyer, a California-based private investor. Dean Giannakopoulos of Marcus & Millichap Capital Corp. arranged $4.1 million through a Midwest regional credit union on behalf of the buyer.
EVANSTON, ILL. — Maverick Commercial Mortgage Inc. has arranged a $3.3 million SBA loan for a restaurant property occupied by Soul & Smoke in Evanston. A regional SBA lender provided the loan, which is fully amortized over 25 years and features a variable interest rate. Loan proceeds will be utilized to complete construction, refinance in-place debt and provide working capital for the business. The transaction marks Maverick’s first time closing with the borrower and lender. Barbecue restaurant Soul & Smoke has expanded to multiple locations, including a spot at Soldier Field, as well as two food trucks and a retail line.
ROMEOVILLE, ILL. — Dermody has acquired land at 251 S. Pinnacle Drive in the Chicago suburb of Romeoville with plans to build LogistiCenter at Romeoville, a 460,428-square-foot logistics facility. Construction will begin this spring, with completion slated for the first quarter of 2026. The site is near I-55, I-355, I-80, I-294 and Illinois Route 53. It is also in close proximity to the Union Pacific Joliet Intermodal Terminal and BNSF Logistics Park, Chicago. The project will feature a 3,000-square-foot spec office, clear height of 40 feet, 51 exterior dock-high doors, four drive-in doors, 160 parking stalls, up to 141 trailer spaces, ESFR fire protection and LED lighting. The divisible facility will be able to accommodate a wide variety of uses, including advanced manufacturing, e-commerce fulfillment, distribution and warehousing. John Whitehead and Adam Roth of NAI Hiffman represented Dermody in the transaction.
CHICAGO RIDGE, ILL. — Eastham Capital has sold Ridgeland Station, an 84-unit apartment community in Chicago Ridge, for $10 million. Eastham acquired the property for the portfolio of Eastham Capital Fund V LP in partnership with Bender Cos. in February 2019. Ridgeland Station marked the first collaboration between Eastham and Bender. To date, the partners have co-invested in nine projects with a 10th in the pipeline. Under Bender’s management, Ridgeland Station maintained strong occupancy levels and was 95 percent leased at the time of disposition. Average rents increased 9.7 percent year over year. The community consists of a mix of one- and two-bedroom units.
DES PLAINES, ILL. — Brown Commercial Group has brokered the sale of a 22,050-square-foot food distribution building in the Chicago suburb of Des Plaines for $2.4 million. The property was customized for food distribution and includes nearly 6,000 square feet of cooler space and 2,530 square feet of walk-in freezer space. Mason Hezner and Candace Scurto of Brown represented the seller, Athos Rawls Road LLC. Joe Karmin of Transwestern represented the buyer, GCB LLC, which plans to use the space for a similar food distribution business.
PONTOON BEACH, ILL. — Contegra Construction Co. is underway on a 933,656-square-foot distribution center at Gateway Tradeport in Pontoon Beach, a northeast suburb of St. Louis. Completion is slated for spring 2026. Developed by NorthPoint Development, the project marks the fifth distribution center built by Contegra at the 600-acre master-planned Gateway Tradeport. The industrial development debuted in 2019 and will host more than 3.6 million square feet of space once Contegra’s latest project is completed. The newest addition is a build-to-suit called Gateway Tradeport VI. Located on a 104-acre site, Gateway Tradeport VI will feature a clear height of 36 feet, 175 dock doors, 830 trailer parking spaces and 985 car parking spaces. There will also be a 19,928-square-foot mezzanine and nearly 54,000 square feet of finished space with offices, breakrooms and restrooms.
CHICAGO — Sterling Bay and Affinius Capital have completed Pulaski 55 Logistics Center, an industrial facility located at 4510 W. Ann Lurie Place in Chicago’s Archer Heights neighborhood. The 147,500-square-foot property is situated within Crawford Industrial Park with convenient access to I-55, I-94 and downtown Chicago. The project is located in an Enterprise Zone with an approved 6B real estate tax incentive, providing financial relief for future tenants. Pulaski 55 Logistics Center features 10 loading docks, 102 car parking spaces and adjacent retail options. The project is certified LEED Silver. Colliers is handling leasing efforts for the property.
AcquisitionsDevelopmentFeaturesHeartland Feature ArchiveIllinoisLeasing ActivityMidwestRestaurantRetail
JLL: U.S. Retail Sector Remains Optimistic as Market Conditions Shift
by John Nelson
CHICAGO — Retail closures are at a cyclical high, totaling a whopping 9,900 business shutdowns in 2024, according to JLL’s fourth-quarter 2024 retail report entitled “United States Retail Market Dynamics.” For the first time in several years, store closures outpaced store openings in a calendar year. Fabric and crafts retailer JOANN, who filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection twice within a year, is shuttering all 800 stores, while major department store chain Macy’s will close 150 stores over the next three years, with 66 closures anticipated in 2025 alone. The highest number of store closures resulted from discount and dollar stores like Family Dollar, CVS Health and Big Lots, as well as specialty retailers like Party City. Retail closures are represented across different size brackets, with more than 55 percent of announced closures identifying with footprints ranging from 5,000 square feet to 20,000 square feet. Expanding retailers such as Dollar General, O’Reilly Automotive and Five Below align with these vacant boxes, while larger, major closures like Bed Bath & Beyond and Toys “R” Us occupy more “desirable” locations. On the flip side, between 2024 and 2025, there were roughly 7,700 new retail store openings announced. Nearly 3,000 of these openings …
CHICAGO — Maverick Commercial Mortgage Inc. has arranged $5.6 million in financing for a three-tenant retail property in the Gold Coast neighborhood of Chicago. The 5,800-square-foot asset was fully leased at the time of the loan closing. A national lender provided the three-year, fixed-rate loan at 6.45 percent. The loan amortizes on a 25-year schedule. Chicago-based JDI Realty was the borrower.