AURORA, ILL. — SunTrust Banks Inc. has provided a $5.6 million Fannie Mae loan for the refinancing of Fox Shore Apartments in Aurora, a suburb of Chicago. Built in 1970, the five-story building includes 94 units, all of which are designated affordable under Section 8 of the U.S. Housing Act. The property was 96 percent occupied at the time of the loan closing. Evan Hom of SunTrust originated the 10-year loan on behalf of the non-profit borrower.
AURORA, ILL. — Cunat Inc. has acquired Stone Crossing Apartments in the Chicago suburb of Aurora for an undisclosed price. The 258-unit apartment community is located at 1240 Nantucket Road. The property consists of three two-story townhome buildings with three-bedroom units and two three-story apartment buildings with one- and two-bedroom units. Cunat plans to completely upgrade, renovate and rebrand the community under the new name Arbor West. Cunat will renovate unit interiors, demolish community buildings and build a new leasing office, clubhouse and indoor pool. The community was 97 percent occupied at the time of sale. David Gaines and Sean Fogarty of HFF represented the seller, a partnership between Graycliff Capital Partners LLC, Buligo Capital Partners and The Ferndale Realty Group. Trent Niederberger and Jason Bond of HFF arranged a three-year, floating-rate acquisition loan through Bridge Debt Strategies Fund Manager LLC, a subsidiary of Bridge Investment Group LLC.
HOFFMAN ESTATES, ILL. — Sears Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ: SHLD) has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. A $134 million debt payment was due today. Eddie Lampert will step down as Sears chief executive, but will remain the company’s chairman. The Hoffman Estates-based company oversees both Sears and Kmart-branded department stores. The company has negotiated $300 million in senior financing from its lenders and is also in the process of negotiating a $300 million loan with ESL Investments Inc., which is Lampert’s hedge fund. “While we have made progress, the plan has yet to deliver the results we have desired, and addressing the company’s immediate liquidity needs has impacted our efforts to become a profitable and more competitive retailer,” says Lampert. “The Chapter 11 process will give [Sears] the flexibility to strengthen its balance sheet, enabling the company to accelerate its strategic transformation, continue right-sizing its operating model and return to profitability.” Sears and Kmart stores will remain open for business, but the company plans to close 142 unprofitable stores by the end of the year. Liquidation sales at these stores are expected to begin shortly. This is in addition …
CHICAGO AND WILLOWBROOK, ILL. — Avanath Capital Management LLC has acquired two affordable housing properties in metro Chicago totaling 668 units for $72.2 million. Avanath’s institutional fund, Avanath Affordable Housing III, was used to acquire the assets. The properties include the 582-unit Hinsdale Lake Terrace in Willowbrook and the 86-unit Drexel Court in Chicago. Avanath plans to upgrade amenity spaces at both properties. Sellers were not disclosed. At the Hinsdale property, 100 percent of the rents are restricted for those earning no more than 60 percent of the area median income. At the Drexel property, resident incomes are restricted per the Illinois Housing Development Authority.
CHICAGO — Jameson Commercial has brokered the sale of a 35,000-square-foot industrial building in Chicago’s West Loop for $5.4 million. The buyer, LG Development Group, plans to demolish the building and replace it with a 10-story, 166-unit apartment building. Jameson represented the seller, Fred Baker Trust. The property, located at 1214-1230 W. Jackson Blvd., was formerly home to FredEric’s Frame Studio.
CHICAGO — Three new retailers have joined the tenant lineup at Optima Signature, a 57-story luxury apartment tower in Chicago’s Streeterville neighborhood. GoodVets Streeterville, a full-service veterinarian, has opened its 2,000-square-foot office. RUNAWAY, a run conditioning fitness studio, will occupy 4,200 square feet starting in November. Guidepost Montessori, a California-based school serving toddlers and preschoolers, is scheduled to open an 11,500-square-foot school later this year. Located at 220 E. Illinois St., Optima Signature features 490 apartment units and 58,000 square feet of retail and commercial space. Developer Optima Inc. completed the LEED Silver-certified property in 2017. Monthly rents start at $2,265.
Over the past four years, Chicago’s legal sector has accounted for almost 750,000 square feet of negative net absorption despite a robust economy keeping demand for legal services of all types strong. While much has been written about large law firms shedding space as they reconfigure their offices with open floor plans that appeal to millennial and Generation Z talent, not all are following the same course of action. Finding the right size At one end of the spectrum, many large law firms are electing to relocate to ultra-efficient trophy towers, justifying the exorbitant construction costs and rent increases associated with building out new space in Class A+ towers by shedding enormous amounts of space from their footprints. Of the four firms larger than 100,000 square feet that have elected to reduce their space when relocating to newly constructed towers since 2015, all have been able to shed roughly 35.5 percent of their prior footprints on average, with some firms achieving even greater reductions. For example, Holland & Knight attained a 45 percent space reduction in its recently announced move from 105,000 square feet at Citadel Center to 57,000 square feet at 150 North Riverside. There are also many large …
EDWARDSVILLE, ILL. — Contegra Construction Co. has completed a $3.2 million retail center known as Timberlake Village in Edwardsville, about 28 miles northeast of St. Louis. Developed by Kamadulski Crays Fischer LLC, property spans 10,000 square feet. Kyoto Japanese Steakhouse is the anchor tenant. An additional 3,000 square feet is available for lease. The 1.5-acre site includes 70 car parking spaces.
ROCKFORD, ILL. — HREC Investment Advisors has arranged the sale of the 106-room Fairfield Inn & Suites in Rockford for an undisclosed price. Minnesota-based Oliver Cos. purchased the asset. Jeff Preston and Tom Sommer of HREC represented the sellers, North Central Group and Raymond Management Co. The hotel, located near I-90, features a complimentary breakfast, Wi-Fi, a fitness center and pool. Fairfield Inn & Suites is part of the Marriott chain of hotels.
CHICAGO — Sheehan Nagle Hartray Architects (SNHA) has signed a 23,615-square-foot office lease to relocate to 1 Prudential Plaza in Chicago. The architectural firm will relocate form 12,907 square feet at 30 W. Monroe St. upon build-out of its space in April 2019. Geoffrey Kasselman, Matthew Whipple, Bob Chodos and Steve Levitas of Newmark Knight Frank represented SNHA in the lease transaction. Landlord Sterling Bay was self-represented in the deal. SNHA cited abundance of natural light, amenities, location and floor plates with room for growth as the reasoning for the site selection. The firm, which has 70 employees, offers architectural design, interior design and predesign services.