BENSENVILLE, ILL. — Darwin Realty has begun development of a Bo Jackson Elite Sports Facility in Bensenville. The 114,140-square-foot indoor sports training center will be the third Bo Jackson facility in the United States and the second in Illinois. Completion is slated for the end of the year. The facility is designed to accommodate training for sports such as baseball, soccer, football and lacrosse. The building will also include a track, weight room and climbing wall. Sports legend Vincent “Bo” Jackson attended a groundbreaking ceremony on Thursday, July 18. Jackson, a graduate of Auburn University, is the only professional athlete in history to be named an All-Star in both baseball and football. Triumph Construction is the general contractor and Charles Smith of Arete Design Studio Ltd. is the architect.
BARTLETT, ILL. — Meridian Design Build has broken ground on a 100,560-square-foot industrial build-to-suit for Cathay Industries in Bartlett. The property will be situated on a 6.8-acre site within Abbott Land & Investment’s Blue Heron Business Park. The building will feature a clear height of 30 feet, eight loading docks, two drive-in doors, 70 car parking spaces and 4,000 square feet of office space. It will be the fourth building within Blue Heron Business Park. Cathay is an iron oxide manufacturer. Harris Architects and Mackie Consultants make up the project team. A timeline for completion was not disclosed.ggg
CHICAGO AND NEW YORK CITY — Student housing developer Core Spaces has entered into a partnership with Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) to recapitalize nine of its properties in a deal valued at $600 million. The national portfolio consists of seven operating student housing properties and two projects under development, totaling 4,358 beds. The Wall Street Journal reports that Goldman Sachs will likely utilize its newly launched, $2.5 billion real estate investment fund for the Core student housing portfolio. The newspaper reports that the New York-based financial giant has purchased more than $30 billion in real estate since 2012 mostly using its own capital. Core will keep a small ownership percentage in the portfolio and keep the assets under its management. The deal is a strategic decision by the Chicago-based firm to aggregate its portfolio with an institutional investor and retain an interest in its developed properties for the long haul, says Core’s founder and CEO, Marc Lifshin. “We believe in the long-term performance of our assets,” he says. “Our assets have proven to perform over time. We would rather be involved for the growth period. It creates a much more sustainable model for us going forward.” The operating properties that …
BATAVIA, ILL. — DHL has signed a 60,000-square-foot industrial lease in Batavia, a western suburb of Chicago. The recently completed, 102,000-square-foot building is located at 1100 N. Raddant Road within the Northeast Business Park. Principal Construction built the facility on behalf of developer Midwest Industrial Funds. Approximately 42,000 square feet remain available for lease.
CHICAGO — Stanton Road Capital LLC, in partnership with Third Lake Partners LLC, has purchased 200 S. Michigan Avenue, a 371,566-square-foot office tower in the heart of Chicago’s East Loop. The 22-story tower overlooks The Art Institute of Chicago and Millennium Park. Completed in 1958 and widely known by its previous name, the Borg-Warner Building, the property will undergo a modernization. Plans call for an upgraded lobby and improvements to existing amenities such as the tenant lounge. Cushman & Wakefield brokered the sale of the building. Crain’s Chicago Business previously reported that Stanton was under contract to pay approximately $34 million for the leasehold interest in the building. Shidler Group was the seller.
ELK GROVE VILLAGE, ILL. — CA Industrial, the industrial investment and development division of CA Ventures, has broken ground on CA Elk Grove, a 146,029-square-foot speculative warehouse in Elk Grove Village. The Class A project will sit on seven acres at 550 E. Devon Ave. Slated for completion in the first quarter of 2020, CA Elk Grove will feature a clear height of 32 feet, 18 loading docks and parking for 135 cars. The new warehouse is being constructed on the site of an existing retail center. A portion of the retail space, 7,800 square feet, will remain as retail. The other portion was rezoned as industrial. Established businesses Tata’s Pierogi and La Spa Nails will be relocated to renovated space within the retail center. They will join Subway, Peking Express and Fatt Mustard Café, which will remain in their current locations. The retail property will receive a new façade, signage, roof and resurfaced parking lot. Harris Architects Inc. is the architect and Pepper Construction is the general contractor.
NORRIDGE, ILL. — Lee & Associates has negotiated the $1.2 million sale of a 15,000-square-foot retail building in Norridge, about 15 miles northwest of Chicago. The property, partially occupied by Dollar General, is located at 7510 W. Irving Park Road. It also features a showroom. Rick Scardino and John Cassidy of Lee & Associates represented the seller. A private investor purchased the asset.
CHICAGO — A $100 million academic building and residence hall has opened at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) known as the Academic and Residential Complex. The property is home to a two-story, 54,000-square-foot academic building as well as a 10-story residence hall featuring 548 beds. The complex features 16,000 square feet of shared spaces, including study lounges on each floor, a fitness center, laundry facility and 10th-floor sky lounge. A 1,600-square-foot retail area includes a Starbucks. The facility was the result of a public-private partnership with developer American Campus Communities. Most of the financing for the project came from a tax-exempt bond issuance with Collegiate Housing Foundation, a nonprofit organization. Chicago-based SCB Architects designed the facility. Thornton Tomasetti provided structural engineering services.
CHICAGO — KeyBank Real Estate Capital has provided a $43 million Fannie Mae loan for the refinancing of a portfolio of nine multifamily buildings in Chicago known as Maynard at Elaine. The portfolio includes two adjacent parking lots comprising 101 spaces. The borrower, CLK Properties, purchased the portfolio in 2015 and completed a $9 million capital improvement plan. CLK’s management company manages the buildings. Erik Storz of KeyBank originated the loan. CLK is participating in the Fannie Green Rewards program, which provides financial incentives for owners that make water or energy conservation improvements to their properties within 12 months of the loan closing.
PROSPECT HEIGHTS, ILL. — Conor Commercial Real Estate has begun development of Executive Commerce Center in Prospect Heights. The 150,000-square-foot speculative industrial building will sit on 10 acres and feature a 32-foot clear height, 25 truck docks, two drive-in doors and parking for 165 cars. Completion is slated for the end of this year. McShane Construction Co. is the general contractor and Ware Malcomb is the architect. Denise Chaimovitz and Sean Sloan of Paine Wetzel are marketing the property for lease on behalf of Conor.