JOLIET, ILL. — Peak Construction Corp. has broken ground on a new 80,000-square-foot warehouse and distribution center for Blue Ribbon Product Co. in Joliet, south of Naperville. The seven-acre site is located in IDI Gazeley’s Rock Run Business Park. The warehouse and distribution center will include 6,000 square feet of corporate office space, a custom-designed training/tasting room, two break rooms, a 4,500-square-foot cooler, a 500-square-foot repacking room, four dock positions and three drive-through loading lanes with possible expansion into a fourth. The project is slated for completion at the end of June. Mike Fonda, Hugh Williams, Matt Knafel and Anne McGrath of Avison Young represented the tenant. Peak has teamed up with Partners in Design Architects Inc. and Jacob & Hefner Associates on the project.
AURORA, ILL. — Evergreen Real Estate Group has opened Aurora St. Charles Senior Living in Aurora. The 60-unit independent living facility is located at 400 E. New York St. Formerly St. Charles Hospital, the historic building was transformed into a residential community as part of a $24 million redevelopment that began in December 2015. The community includes a mix of studio, one- and two-bedroom floor plans. Amenities include a large community room, fitness room, walking paths and community gardens. The building had been vacant since 2010. Evergreen Real Estate Group collaborated with Invest Aurora, Northern Lights Development Corp., the City of Aurora, Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA) and Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, along with several private lenders and investors, to secure the financing and tax credits needed to fund the $24 million rehabilitation. Approximately $3 million was obtained through the River Edge Redevelopment Zone program, which was created in 2006 to incentivize riverfront development in Aurora and other Illinois cities. The balance of the project’s development cost was covered by a combination of federal historic tax credits, low-income housing tax credits allocated by IHDA and private financing.
BOLINGBROOK, ILL. — Hengli America LLC, an hydraulic manufacturer based in China, has purchased its new U.S. headquarters in Bolingbrook. The 46,289-square-foot facility is located at 580 Crossroads. The building will also serve as a testing and distribution facility. The property includes 12,000 square feet of office space, five dock doors and two drive-in doors. Perry Higa of NAI Hiffman represented Hengli, while Traci Buckingham Payette and Jeff Kapcheck of CBRE represented the undisclosed seller.
SKOKIE, ILL. — American Landmark Properties has purchased the Illinois Science + Technology Park (ISTP) in Skokie, a suburb of Chicago, for $77 million. The 24-acre campus is located at 4901 Searle Parkway. The property includes 556,650 square feet of office, laboratory and amenity space. The buildings are 86 percent leased to tenants such as NorthShore University HealthSystem, Astellas Pharma, LanzaTech, Vetter Development Services USA and Fresenius Kabi. Included in the acquisition is the 136,000-square-foot 8030 Lamon Ave. building shell, which is suitable for a build-to-suit tenant. Additional development opportunities include up to 1.3 million square feet of new office and lab facilities on the ISTP campus and a 500,000-square-foot, mixed-use retail and residential project directly on Oakton Street. Forest City Realty Trust, which purchased the property in 2005, was the seller. Scott Brandwein and David Saad of CBRE have been retained as the leasing agents for the ISTP property. Cohen Financial secured a $73.5 million loan with Prime Finance Partners of Chicago for the borrower.
COLLINSVILLE, ILL. — Integra Real Estate Capital has negotiated a $3.2 million non-recourse loan for the acquisition of Orchards Shopping Center in Collinsville, 15 miles east of St. Louis. Dollar General, Asia Gardens and HSHS Medical Group anchor the 65,143-square-foot center. Meyer Perlman of Integra secured the 10-year, fixed-rate loan through a CMBS lender on behalf of the borrower, a New York-based investment group.
PEORIA, ILL. — Caddis has opened Heartis Village Peoria in Peoria, north of Springfield. The 108-unit, 97,000-square foot senior living community is located at 8201 N. Illinois Route 91. The community consists of two adjoined components: a single-story, 36-unit memory care residence and a three-story residence with a total of 72 assisted living apartments. Heartis Village Peoria offers a wide variety of amenities, including a salon and spa with a therapeutic tub, two interior courtyards, a large dining room and more. The community is owned by Caddis and managed by Pathway, a senior living operations management company headquartered in Chicago. Austin, Texas-based Katus LLC served as architect and Rosemont, Ill.-based McShane Construction served as general contractor.
GLENVIEW, ILL. — Baum Realty Group LLC has brokered the sale of a retail building in Glenview, a suburb of Chicago, for $1 million. The 4,150-square-foot building is located at 1107 Waukegan Road. Danny Spitz and Greg Dietz of Baum represented the undisclosed seller. A Chicago-based investment group purchased the property in a 1031 exchange.
NORMAL, ILL. — A joint venture between ALTO Real Estate Funds and M & J Wilkow Ltd. has acquired The Shoppes and Plaza at College Hills located in Normal, just north of Bloomington. The 441,995-square-foot, open-air shopping center was 95 percent leased at the time of sale to tenants including Gordmans, Hobby Lobby, Francesca’s, Chico’s, J.Jill and White House/Black Market. M & J Wilkow will manage the shopping center, and The Pollard Group will serve as leasing agent. HFF arranged $13.4 million in acquisition financing for The Shoppes. Benefit Street Partners LLC provided the 10-year, fixed-rate loan. HFF also marketed the property on behalf of the seller, Miller Capital.
ELK GROVE VILLAGE, ILL. — Quantum Real Estate Advisors Inc. has brokered the sale of an industrial building in Elk Grove Village, adjacent to O’Hare International Airport, for $2.2 million. The 34,856-square-foot, single-tenant property is located at 1331 Greenleaf Ave. Jason Caplan of Quantum represented the buyer, a Chicago-based, private real estate investor. An investment group based in the northern suburbs was the seller.
EVANSTON, ILL. — Marcus & Millichap has arranged the sale of The Chandler’s Building in Evanston, 12 miles north of Chicago, for $5.7 million. The building is located at 630 Davis St. near Northwestern University. The mixed-use property features office space and 23,929 square feet of ground-floor retail space. The property was built in 1910 with renovations completed in 2010. The building was 70 percent occupied at the time of sale. The buyer was a private real estate investor satisfying a 1031 exchange. The seller was 630 Davis Street LLC. Stephen Lieberman and Kyle Stengle of Marcus & Millichap represented the sale on behalf of ownership.