NAPERVILLE, ILL. — Cawley Chicago has negotiated the sale of a 7,800-square-foot office building in Naperville for $1.7 million. The standalone property is located at 651 Amersale Drive. Ryan Freed of Cawley represented the seller, American Sale. Leibel Moscowitz of Vandon Forbes represented the buyer, Chabad of Naperville.
There is a widely held belief that investing in the Chicago office real estate market in 2020 is potentially a bad bet. While some investors are concerned by headlines decrying the fiscal health of Illinois, the supposed overvaluing of Cook County tax assessments and softening of the Chicago market, our experience tells us those fears will create opportunities for contrarian investors willing to dig deeper. Because these misperceptions are scaring away some institutional investors, the time is ripe for continued investment in Chicago office properties to take advantage of opportunities that more cautious investors are passing up. Municipal realities At the state level, much has been written about Illinois’ fiscal health. In a report released in September 2019, government watchdog Truth in Accounting labeled Illinois a “Sinkhole State” and ranked it 49th in the nation for its financial condition. After failing to raise enough revenue by hiking taxes to fund the state’s debt, leaders from Illinois have said that massive pension reform — not tax hikes — is the way out of our current debt crisis. Consequently, office real estate investors should not be overly concerned that the state of Illinois will potentially shift the state’s tax burden onto their …
CHICAGO — The Habitat Co. has secured financing and begun development of the first phase of Ogden Commons, a $200 million mixed-use project in Chicago’s North Lawndale neighborhood. The project is being developed in a public-private partnership between Habitat, Sinai Health System, Cinespace Chicago Film Studios, the Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) and the city of Chicago. Upon completion, the 10-acre development will be home to 120,000 square feet of commercial and retail space as well as 350 mixed-income housing units. Located in a federally designated qualified Opportunity Zone, the site is bordered by Ogden Avenue, Fairfield Avenue and Rockwell Street. Ogden Commons will be located on land that once housed the CHA’s former Ogden Courts and Lawndale public housing developments. Through a combination of debt and Opportunity Zone equipment, PNC Bank funded $15 million of the $22 million development cost for Phase I, which includes 50,000 square feet of retail space housed in a three-story building. Signed tenants include Steak n’ Shake, Ja’ Grill and Wintrust Bank. The rest of the building will be leased to Sinai and Cinespace. Construction of the residential component is expected to begin in 2021. Current plans for the first residential phase call for a …
CHICAGO — Berkadia has arranged a $76 million loan for the refinancing of 1407 On Michigan, an apartment building in Chicago. Located at 1407 S. Michigan Ave., the property features amenities such as a gym, indoor basketball court, sauna, yoga studio and outdoor pool deck. The Class A building includes 199 luxury apartment units and 41,498 square feet of retail space that is currently occupied by Rush University Medical Center. Chris Blechschmidt and Joel Kirstein of Berkadia secured the refinancing on behalf of the borrower, Illinois-based Russland Capital. Ares Management provided the loan.
LAKE VILLA, ILL. — Avison Young has negotiated the sale of a 61,334-square-foot industrial building in Chicago’s Lake County submarket for an undisclosed price. The building is located at 436 Park Ave. in Lake Villa. Constructed in 2003, the building includes 5,256 square feet of office space, four exterior doors and four drive-in doors. John Hauser and Thomas Curtis of Avison Young represented the seller, Losch Realty, which operated its Fred W. Losch Beverage Co. out of the facility. Kelly Joyce and Brendan Green of Colliers International represented the buyer, Xttrium Laboratories. Xttrium is a family-owned and operated healthcare manufacturer and supplier.
CHICAGO — Lendlease Development, along with co-developer The John Buck Co. and partner Intercontinental Real Estate Corp., have begun pre-leasing at Porte, a two-tower apartment development in Chicago’s West Loop. Designed by G|R|E|C Architects, the community is scheduled to welcome its first residents in late spring. Porte offers studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom units ranging in size from 546 to 1,591 square feet. Monthly rents start at $2,170. Two-bedroom townhomes measure 1,469 to 2,036 square feet with monthly rents starting at $7,240. Each tower will have its own ground-floor lobby and amenity suite, including a fitness center, entertainment lounge, game room, communal kitchen, coworking space and dog run. The towers will be connected by a two-story podium topped with a pool deck. The word “porte” means door in French. “Porte is designed to serve as a door to all the West Loop has to offer,” says John Buck.
LIBERTYVILLE, ILL. — Medline has unveiled plans to open a 140,000-square-foot sales support center in Libertyville, a northern suburb of Chicago. The company will consolidate nearly a dozen teams totaling 600 employees at the center, which will be the seventh Medline facility in Lake County. Most of the employees will be relocating from the company’s Northfield headquarters or its Mundelein business campus. Both locations have reached capacity. In the last three years, Medline has increased its Chicago-area jobs by 34 percent. Medline provides clinical and supply chain resources to healthcare systems and independent facilities across the continuum of care.
OAK BROOK, ILL. — Lizzadro Properties has completed the redevelopment of 1220 Kensington Road in Oak Brook. The building is now home to the Lizzadro Museum of Lapidary Art, which focuses on stone art. The Museum Plaza Professional Offices are located on the second floor. Lizzadro purchased the 1970s-era office building in the fall of 2015. Lizzadro now occupies a portion of the second-floor space for its family business operations. The remaining 13,600 square feet of space is being leased to other office users, including Skawski Law Offices LLC, Waddell & Reed Financial Advisory, AFIN Family Wealth Management and Sarantakis Law Group LTD. Only 900 square feet remain available for lease. Lizzadro worked with Wright Heerema Architects and Keeley Construction on the project.
BLOOMINGTON, ILL. — Avison Young has arranged the sale of a 60,231-square-foot medical office building in Bloomington for an undisclosed price. The seller, McLean County Orthopedics, will lease back the building on a long-term basis. The facility, located at 1111 Trinity Lane, was constructed as a build-to-suit for McLean in 2016. The property is attached to Advocate Healthcare’s wellness center. Mike Wilson, Erik Foster and Jim Kornick of Avison Young represented the seller. Hammes Partners purchased the asset.
CHICAGO — Greystone has provided a $12.1 million Fannie Mae loan for the refinancing of Germain House in Chicago’s River West neighborhood. The building was converted from office space to 36 apartment units in 2018. Amenities include a fitness center, clubhouse, pool, bike room and rooftop deck. Clint Darby of Greystone originated the 10-year loan with four years of interest-only payments and a 30-year amortization. The permanent loan represents an exit from construction financing. The borrower was 925 Chicago Investment Partners LLC.