NORTHBROOK, ILL. — Cohen Financial, a division of SunTrust Bank, has arranged a $19 million bridge loan for the acquisition of 400 Skokie in Northbrook, a northern suburb of Illinois. The 195,000-square-foot office building is currently 75 percent leased by tenants in various industries, including industrial manufacturing, financial services and healthcare. Michael Hart of Cohen Financial arranged the loan on behalf of the borrower, Ameritus. A Chicago-based bank provided the loan.
CHICAGO — BP Products North America has renewed its 240,000-square-foot office lease at CME Center-10 & 30 South Wacker in Chicago’s West Loop. BP has leased space at the property since 2010 when it relocated from the western suburbs. CME Center is 90 percent leased. The 2.3 million-square-foot property consists of two 40-story towers connected by a 10-story center structure and a 500-car parking garage. Amenities include a car wash, valet parking, tenant lounge and fitness facility. Matt Carolan, Steve Steinmeyer and Bruce Renwick of JLL represented BP in the lease transaction. Joe Gordon and Justin Lewis of Tishman Speyer represented ownership, Tishman Speyer.
CHICAGO — Inland Real Estate Acquisitions LLC has closed on the purchase of four retail properties occupied by Jewel-Osco in suburban Chicago. The properties total a combined 248,622 square feet and feature new 20-year leases. The assets include: 1860 S. Arlington Heights Road in Arlington Heights; 1340 Patriot Blvd. in Glenview; 1759 W. Odgen Ave. in Naperville; and 7122 W. 40th St. in Stickney. Joe Cosenza of Inland and Gina LaMantia, managing counsel for Charles J. Benvenuto PC, completed the transaction on behalf of an Inland affiliate. The seller was not disclosed.
BLOOMINGTON, ILL. — CBL Properties has launched redevelopment of Eastland Mall in Bloomington. H&M and Planet Fitness will occupy the space formerly home to J.C. Penney. Outback Steakhouse is also slated to join the lineup of tenants. Construction of H&M, Planet Fitness and Outback Steakhouse is currently underway. Tenants are expected to open prior to the 2018 holiday season. The mall, originally built in 1967, has a gross leasable area of 760,833 square feet.
AURORA, CAROL STREAM AND NEW LENOX, ILL. — Colliers International has arranged the sale of a 1.4 million-square-foot industrial portfolio in metro Chicago for $95 million. All six buildings in the portfolio are located in business parks with immediate access to interstate highways. The buildings include: 494 E. Lies Road, an 89,380-square-foot facility in the Carol Point Business Center in Carol Stream; 2520 Diehl Road, a 130,000-square-foot facility in the White Oak Business Park in Aurora; and 2700 Ellis Road, 2101 Haven Road, 2201 Haven Road and 2200 Haven Road within the Cherry Hill Business Park in New Lenox. Collectively, the buildings were 100 percent leased to seven tenants at the time of sale. Jeff Devine and Steve Disse of Colliers International represented the seller, institutional investors advised by J.P. Morgan Asset Management. A comingled fund managed by CBRE Investors purchased the portfolio.
CHICAGO — Harrison Street Real Estate Capital LLC has agreed to acquire a portfolio of six student housing properties in Germany from MPC Capital AG. The portfolio consists of more than 1,000 beds and serves university students in Berlin, Bonn, Kaiserslautern, Leipzig and Nuremberg. In addition, Harrison Street has formed a strategic joint venture with MPC Capital to acquire student housing properties across Europe. Headquartered in Germany, MPC Capital is a developer and operator of student accommodations. A press release announcing the transaction didn’t provide a purchase price or the expected closing date. Under the terms of the joint venture, the properties will continue to be managed under MPC Capital’s STAYTOO brand and existing property management teams. MPC Capital has identified several other properties as possible acquisitions for the joint venture, which will also be managed under the STAYTOO brand. Germany has Europe’s largest student population and a supply-constrained student accommodation market, according to Robert Mathias, senior managing director and head of international at Harrison Street. Those attributes plus strong user demand and enrollment growth present an attractive investment opportunity, adds Mathias. Chicago-based Harrison Street is one of the largest owners of student housing in the United States and Europe. Harrison …
HOFFMAN ESTATES, ILL. AND CINCINNATI — Sears Holdings Corp. has announced that 64 Kmart stores and 39 Sears stores will close nationwide between March and early April of this year. Sears had previously unveiled an effort to close unprofitable stores and “right size” store footprints. Eligible associates impacted by these store closures will receive severance and will have the opportunity to apply for open positions at area Kmart or Sears stores. Liquidation sales will begin as early as Jan. 12 at the stores set to close. The company is closing three Kmart stores and three Sears stores in its home state of Illinois. For a full list of store closings, click here. Meanwhile, Cincinnati-based Macy’s has also announced the planned closure of 11 stores, four of which were previously disclosed. With these closures, the retailer will have completed 81 of the approximately 100 planned store closures announced in August 2016. The company intends to close approximately 19 additional stores as leases or operating covenants expire or sales transactions are completed. Including the newly announced stores, Macy’s has closed 124 stores since 2015. A majority of the Macy’s stores closing in early 2018 are located in California and Florida. A full list is available here. …
CHICAGO — NorthMarq Capital has arranged a $93 million Fannie Mae loan for the refinancing of Columbus Plaza in downtown Chicago. The 533-unit multifamily property will undergo extensive work in the lobby and outdoor amenity spaces, including a complete renovation and expansion of the building’s deck and grilling stations. Additionally, energy-saving appliances will be added to reduce water consumption and improve energy efficiencies. Sue Blumberg of NorthMarq arranged the seven-year loan. An entity controlled by the Habitat Co. owns the property.
ELMHURST, ILL. — Inland Real Estate Acquisitions LLC has purchased the Edward-Elmhurst Health Center in Elmhurst, about 20 miles west of Chicago. The purchase price was not disclosed. The 13,000-square-foot medical office building is located at 755 N. York St. Newly constructed in 2017, the property is home to Edward Health Ventures, which operates as Edward-Elmhurst Health. Serving as a medical office space, the property includes 10 exam rooms, one procedure room, one endoscopy suite and four recovery rooms. The center features physicians who specialize in family medicine, internal medicine, obstetrics/gynecology and gastroenterology. Mark Cosenza and Brett Smith of Inland completed the deal on behalf of an Inland affiliate. The seller was not disclosed.
CHICAGO — Scion Student Communities has purchased a 24-property student housing portfolio containing 13,666 beds across 18 states for $1.1 billion. The portfolio involves 20 leading national universities. The transaction also includes the recapitalization of two communities previously owned by Scion-affiliated private syndications. Five different Harrison Street Real Estate Capital funds owned the properties in partnership with multiple operators. Chicago-based Scion Student Communities is a joint venture between the Scion Group, GIC and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB). The portfolio contains a mix of recently developed Class A properties in primarily Tier 1 university markets, as well as select value-added assets. “This is a compelling investment opportunity to efficiently build further scale in the U.S. student housing sector with a portfolio of high-quality, well-located properties in new and existing joint venture markets,” says Hilary Spann, managing director and head of U.S. real estate investments for CPPIB. Harrison Street sold an additional nine-property student housing portfolio to Scion this past March for $465 million. These assets were within a larger 11-property portfolio the JV acquired from four different owners. This portfolio contained a total of 5,000 beds at eight universities. Scion Student Communities notes it plans to pursue additional opportunities to …
