ITASCA, ILL. — Quantum Real Estate Advisors Inc. has brokered the sale of a 23,400-square-foot industrial building in Itasca for $2 million. Five tenants occupy the property, which is located at 1335-1345 Industrial Drive. Jason Caplan of Quantum brokered the transaction. Both the buyer and seller were Chicago-based private real estate investors.
SCHAUMBURG, ILL. — Misumi USA has signed a 47,716-square-foot office lease at Schaumburg Corporate Center in Schaumburg. Located adjacent to Woodfield Mall, the property is a 1 million-square-foot, three-building office complex. Glenstar, which acquired the asset in 2017, has completed $30 million in property improvements, including a new parking garage and conference center as well as renovations to the atrium, fitness center, elevators, bathrooms, lobbies and entrances. Founded in 1988, Misumi is a factory automation, press die and plastic mold application company, serving the automotive, medical manufacturing, consumer packaging and aerospace industries. The company is relocating from 1717 Penny Lane in Schaumburg, where it leased 32,000 square feet. Misumi plans to take occupancy of the new space in June 2020.
CHICAGO — Summit Design + Build LLC has completed the renovation of an office building located at 444 N. Orleans in Chicago’s River North neighborhood. Formerly 21,000 square feet and four stories, the building has been expanded to 25,000 square feet and five stories. In addition to the vertical addition, the project included an interior renovation with new bathrooms, windows, first-floor retail space and a new, relocated elevator. The Lelyn Group served as developer and von Weise Associates provided architectural services.
Public forums have painted a picture of Cook County residential owners carrying an unfair property tax burden, but the truth is that property taxes have increased for everyone. The culprit is not the institutional taxpayer, nor is it the valuation process; today’s oppressive property taxes are a symptom of a diseased system for funding municipal pensions. Clarity on inequity To understand where the inequity lies, it is important to first understand how Cook County values residential versus commercial real estate. Outside of Cook County, every property is assessed at a third of its market value, regardless of property type. Therefore, every $1 million property — residential and commercial alike — will have a taxable assessed value of $333,333. Multiplying that by the local tax rate (let’s use 7 percent) creates a $23,333 tax bill. By contrast, Cook County assesses every residential property for taxation at 10 percent of its market value, whether it be a single-family home, apartment building, condominium, co-op or the residential component of a mixed-use development. If the market value of a single-family home is $1 million, its assessed value is $100,000. Taxing entities multiply this by the state equalization factor, which hovers around 3.0 for an …
CHICAGO — Skender has completed interior construction of the 23,000-square-foot headquarters for Paragon Biosciences LLC in Chicago. The life science innovator, which invests in, builds and advises bioscience companies, has relocated to the 35th floor of 330 N. Wabash from its current office in Northbrook. Components of the new office include open office workstation areas, private offices, conference rooms, two reception areas, a warming pantry and large café. Skender collaborated with Gensler and CBRE to complete the project.
CHICAGO — Joseph J. Duffy Co. has begun construction of a seven-story, mixed-income apartment community in Chicago’s Jefferson Park neighborhood. Nonprofit organization Full Circle Communities is the developer for the 75-unit building located at 5150 N. Northwest Highway. The project will provide housing for veterans, persons with disabilities and working families. Sixty of the units will be affordable and 15 will be market-rate. Amenities will include a community room, library, business center, picnic area, community garden, dog run and 40 parking spaces. The project is expected to receive LEED Silver certification upon completion. Cordogan, Clark & Associates is the project architect.
WEST CHICAGO, ILL. — Colliers International has brokered the sale of 1717 W. Harvester Road, a 465,940-square-foot industrial facility in West Chicago. The sales price was undisclosed. Situated on 30.5 acres, the property features a clear height of 25 feet, 145 car parking stalls, 23 loading docks and four drive-in doors. It is fully leased to two tenants. Boston-based Plymouth Industrial REIT purchased the asset. Jeff Devine and Steve Disse of Colliers represented the institutional seller.
CHICAGO — Interra Realty has arranged the deconversion sale of 1638-44 W. Greenleaf Ave., a 40-unit condominium building in Chicago’s Rogers Park neighborhood, for $6.5 million. Built in 1929, the property rises three stories. Renovated two- and three-bedroom units feature exposed brick, kitchens with granite countertops and stainless-steel appliances as well as in-unit laundry. Craig Martin and Lucas Fryman of Interra represented the buyer, a local investment group that purchased the asset through a 1031 tax-deferred exchange. Martin and Fryman also represented the sellers, a private equity group that owned 36 of the units, three individual investors who each owned a unit and one owner-occupier.
WHEELING, ILL. — Matanky Realty Group has brokered the sale of River Trail Apartments in Wheeling for an undisclosed price. The 56-unit multifamily complex is located on South Milwaukee Avenue. Terri Cox and Zach Slagle of Matanky represented the undisclosed seller. NS Properties LLC, a local investor, purchased the asset. The buyer plans to invest capital in building improvements.
CHICAGO — Fairgrounds Coffee & Tea has signed a 2,623-square-foot retail lease at 306 West Erie, an office development currently under construction in Chicago’s River North neighborhood. The location will serve as the company’s seventh coffee shop in the Chicago area. The building is the first phase of Verso, a three-building office redevelopment undertaken by North Wells Capital and Urban Innovations. Renovation work began in late 2019 to expand and modernize the property. JLL is the leasing agent for 306 West Erie and the entire Verso portfolio.