CHICAGO — Lenox Hill Construction has broken ground on a six-story medical office building located at 710 N. Dearborn St. in the River North neighborhood of Chicago. The office will serve as an expansion for the Illinois Orthopedic Network and Wiesman Cosmetic Surgery & Wellness Institute. The building will be used primarily for administrative functions, but will also contain clinical space. Ron Kwaske designed the building, which will only be 20 feet wide. Construction of the building is scheduled to be completed by the end of the year.
HOFFMAN ESTATES, ILL. — Sears Holdings will close 68 Kmart and 10 Sears stores this summer, 23 of which are located in the Midwest. In February, the company, which is based in the Chicago suburb of Hoffman Estates, announced it would accelerate the closing of unprofitable stores. The majority of the store closings will take place in July. The closing Kmart and Sears stores will start their liquidation sales on May 12 and April 29, respectively. Associates impacted by these store closures will receive severance and will have the opportunity to apply for open positions at other area Kmart or Sears stores. Sears Holdings expects the store closures to generate a meaningful level of cash from the liquidation of store inventory and from the sale or sublease of some of the related real estate. A complete list of store closures can been found here.
CHICAGO — American Street Capital has arranged a $5.5 million cash-out refinancing loan for an 18-unit multifamily property in Chicago. Amenities at the property include a heated indoor parking garage, elevator, fitness center, party room and rooftop deck. The building is comprised of nine three-bedroom/2.5-bathroom units and nine two-bedroom/two-bathroom units. The non-recourse loan features a five-year adjustable-rate mortgage, a 20-year term and 30-year amortization schedule. The loan was funded through the Freddie Mac Small Balance Program. Igor Zhizhin of American Street Capital originated the loan.
CHICAGO — HFF has arranged a $99.5 million loan for a 573,276-square-foot office building in Chicago. Borrowers Blue Star Properties and the Wolcott Group LLC will use the loan proceeds to payoff existing financing and complete building renovations. The building, located at 125 S. Clark St., was constructed in 1907 by Daniel Burnham as the Commercial National Bank Building of Chicago. The property is currently undergoing a renovation and rebranding as The National. The 20-story, steel and concrete building will feature loft office space, an outdoor terrace, an artisanal marketplace and lounge, record shop and fitness center. HFF arranged the floating-rate financing with Brookfield Real Estate Financial Partners and Bank of the Ozarks. Christopher Carroll, Michael Kavanau and Christopher Knight of HFF represented the borrower.
ELGIN, ILL. — Morgan/Harbour Construction will build a 257,344-square-foot distribution facility in Elgin, approximately 40 miles northwest of Chicago. The speculative development will be located on a 16.8-acre site at 2650 Automall Drive. Morgan/Harbour is expected to break ground on the project this May and complete the facility by the end of the year. Features will include 32-foot clear heights, an ESFR sprinkler system, 24 exterior docks, four drive-in doors and parking. Zilber Property Group is the developer, and Cornerstone Architects Ltd. will provide the architectural services. Pinnacle Engineering Group LLC will provide civil design services.
CHICAGO — Banana Republic has signed a 6,078-square-foot lease to occupy a two-story retail building under construction in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago. Centrum Partners is the developer of the project, located at 2720 N. Clark St., which is slated for completion in October. The 22,000-square-foot building will replace The Edge Bar and Grill. Alt School has preleased 13,199 square feet of space and will occupy the entire second floor. Meredith Oliver and Brendan Reedy of Cushman & Wakefield represented Banana Republic in the lease transaction.
PEORIA, ILL. — Locally owned boutique Blue has preleased 1,600 square feet of retail space at Plaza at Grand Prairie. Cullinan Properties is developing the 7,200-square-foot shopping center that is located at the intersection of War Memorial Drive and American Prairie Road in Peoria. Blue, along with retailers Massage Envy and Great Clips, will open this summer. This location will be Blue’s second store. Plaza at Grand Prairie is part of Grand Prairie Developments, a 200-acre mixed-use project. Components of Grand Prairie Developments include Plaza at Grand Prairie, Shoppes at Grand Prairie, Plaza West, Prairie Place, Shoppes West, Apartments at Grand Prairie and a Carmike Cinemas. Plaza at Grand Prairie is co-anchored by Hy-Vee and Gordmans. Other tenants include Longhorn Steakhouse, Famous Dave’s BBQ, Steak ‘n Shake and Starbucks.
OAK BROOK, ILL. — Mid-America Real Estate Corp. has brokered the sale of a 103,836-square-foot retail property in Oak Brook, approximately 20 miles west of Chicago, for $19.9 million. Oak Brook Court is located at the intersection of Kingery Highway and 16th Street. Binny’s Beverage Depot, Office Max and The Great Escape anchor the shopping center. Rick Drogosz and Ben Wineman of Mid-America were the sole brokers in the transaction and represented the seller, an institutional advisor.
CHICAGO — A joint venture between Westmount Realty Capital LLC and Partners Group has acquired an industrial portfolio in the greater Chicago area for an undisclosed amount. The portfolio consists of 19 multi-tenant, light industrial facilities totaling approximately 1.5 million square feet. The portfolio is 86 percent occupied. The seller in the transaction was a large, institutional owner of industrial real estate. Within the portfolio, 14 properties are located near Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport. The other five assets are located in Romeoville, Gurnee and Wheeling. Westmount will provide property management services, and Cawley Chicago will provide the leasing services.
WEST CHICAGO, ILL. — Owen Wagner & Co. has sold a 19,400-square-foot industrial property in West Chicago. Contract Flooring Service of Glendale Heights purchased the suburban property, located at 1185 Atlanta Drive about 35 miles west of Chicago, for an undisclosed price. Contract Flooring Service plans to use the freestanding building as the site of its new headquarters. Andrea Hauger of Owen Wagener & Co. represented the company in the disposition.