NORMAL, ILL. — AXIS 360 Commercial Real Estate Specialists has negotiated two retail leases for cannabis dispensaries in Normal, just north of Bloomington. Revolution Cannabis signed a lease for 3,700 square feet at 1609 Northbrook Road and expects to open before the end of the year. AYR Wellness signed a lease for 3,200 square feet at 1730 Bradford Lane within the Constitution Trail Centre shopping center. AYR Wellness is slated to open in spring 2024. Michael O’Neal and Meghan O’Neal-Rogozinski of AXIS 360 represented the undisclosed landlords in both leases.
CHICAGO — Habitat and P3 Markets have topped off construction of the second apartment building at 43 Green, a $100 million mixed-income development in Chicago’s Bronzeville neighborhood. The transit-oriented development is centered around the 43rd Street Green Line L station. The new building rises 10 stories with 80 units, 44 of which will be designated as affordable. Completion is slated for late summer 2024. The developers have fully leased the first apartment building, which also rises 10 stories. The 99-unit property consists of 50 affordable units for households earning up to 60 percent of the area median income. Located on a long-vacant, city-owned lot on the northeast corner of East 43rd Street and Calumet Avenue, the first building is the largest of three planned buildings at 43 Green. Amenities include a fitness center, business center, picnic area, community room with kitchen, two rooftop terraces, laundry facilities and bicycle storage. The second building will have similar amenities.
CHICAGO — Quantum Real Estate Advisors Inc. has brokered the sale of a 38-unit multifamily property in Chicago for $2.7 million. The courtyard building is located at 4126 W. 24th Place in Little Village. Clay Maxfield of Quantum represented the seller, which had owned the asset for 25 years. The property sold to a local owner with multiple assets in Chicago and the surrounding suburbs.
CHICAGO — A. Lange & Söhne, a German luxury watch manufacturer, has signed a lease for 1,409 square feet of retail space at The Shops at Tribune Tower in Chicago. The retailer’s location will be positioned on Michigan Avenue on the corner overlooking Pioneer Court, which was redeveloped by CIM Group and Golub & Co. The area between Tribune Tower and the neighboring Apple store features space for locals and visitors to gather and shop. The A. Lange & Söhne boutique is slated to open in 2024 and will join the Musuem of Ice Cream, Foxtrot Market, Blue Bottle Coffee, Rowan and Krewe. The Shops at Tribune Tower consists of 50,000 square feet of retail space that anchors the ground floor of the 36-story, 740,000-square-foot Tribune Tower. CIM Group and Golub & Co. transformed the property into 162 luxury condos.
JOLIET, ILL. — PENN Entertainment has broken ground on the $185 million Hollywood Casino Joliet at RockRun Collection in Joliet. The casino will anchor RockRun Collection, a 1 million-square-foot mixed-use development that is under construction. Cullinan Properties is the owner and developer for the 310-acre project. The land-based casino will feature approximately 850 slots and 44 live table games, including a baccarat room, retail sportsbook, bars and restaurants, and an approximately 10,000-square-foot event center with meeting areas. There will also be roughly 1,330 parking spaces. PENN expects to create 450 construction jobs and 515 permanent jobs at Hollywood Casino Joliet. The development will take about 24 months to construct. RockRun Collection is slated to include 570 apartment units, 500 hospitality rooms, 150,000 square feet of office space, 500,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space, an outdoor amenity area and entertainment space.
CHICAGO — An analysis from Origin Investments (Origin) predicts a tumultuous 2024, with concerns of a recession and elevated interest rates likely to continue. Despite this, the Chicago-based real estate fund manager expects next year to bring unique opportunities for multifamily investors to secure protected positions in the capital structure and enhance investment returns. “The volume of variable-rate bank loans — made when the Secured Overnight Financing Rate was 0 percent and the 10-year Treasury note yield was below two percent — coming due in 2024 will create a generational opportunity in senior debt and preferred equity investments,” explains David Scherer, co-CEO of Origin. “Despite uncertainties, it remains a mistake to stay out of the multifamily investment market in 2024.” Origin predicts that rent growth will stabilize to historic norms in 2024. The analysis theorizes that the negative rent growth some markets — such as Austin, Texas — experienced in 2023 was likely due to oversupply, and will reverse by January 2025. The report also indicates that long-term demand and absorption of apartments and rental homes is likely to remain strong for several years, as the U.S. is facing a shortage of between 5.5 million and 6.8 million housing units. …
BELLWOOD, ILL. — Evergreen Real Estate Group has completed Bellwood Senior Apartments, an 80-unit affordable seniors housing community in Bellwood, a western suburb of Chicago. The $31.5 million project replaces a former Walgreens store that had been vacant for nearly five years. The four-story development offers 76 one-bedroom and four two-bedroom apartments for seniors age 62 or older with incomes at or below 60 percent of the area median income (AMI). Evergreen says the building is 40 percent leased and will reach full occupancy in the next few months. Weese Langley Weese Architects designed the project. F.H. Paschen served as general contractor on the development. Financial partners for Bellwood Senior Apartments include the Illinois Housing Development Authority as the tax credit issuer (both Low-Income Housing Tax Credits and Illinois Affordable Housing Tax Credits) and subordinate funds provider; the Village of Bellwood, which provided a TIF loan; Bank of America, which is the investor and construction loan lender; Hudson Housing Capital, which syndicated the tax credits; Cook County, which provided HOME funds; and the ComEd Energy Efficiency Program.
CHICAGO — Interra Realty has brokered the $9.6 million sale of a 28-unit apartment building in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood. Located at 1900-16 N. Lincoln Ave., the property features a mix of studio, one- and two-bedroom units. The building, constructed in 1906, underwent a capital improvement program for new appliances, countertops, cabinets and floors. Joe Smazal of Interra represented the buyer, Chicago-based ICM Properties. He also represented the local private seller. The property was fully occupied at the time of sale.
CHICAGO — Chicago-based real estate investor and operator Northpond Partners has partnered with a southeast U.S. pension fund to form Northpond Retail Partners, a $200 million investment vehicle. The fund will target the acquisition of unanchored neighborhood retail centers with an initial focus across the Southeast and select Sunbelt markets. As an all-cash buyer, the partnership will target properties housing convenience, necessity and service-oriented tenants. Categories typically include food and beverage, medical, fitness, and health and beauty. Northpond says the multi-tenant properties ideally contain smaller spaces ranging from 1,000 to 5,000 square feet per tenant.
SKOKIE, ILL. — Home furnishing retailer Pottery Barn is relocating its store at Westfield Old Orchard, joining Arhaus, Puttshack and Zara in the former Lord & Taylor space set to open in summer 2024. Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield owns Westfield Old Orchard shopping mall, which is undergoing redevelopment. The center is set to welcome six new retailers over the next year. Jewelry brand Little Words Project and Canadian women’s fashion brand Aritzia are opening in December. Urban Outfitters is opening in January, and Italian intimates store Intimissimi is slated to open in the spring. Westfield Old Orchard will also welcome new dining options next year, including local all-day lounge Cupitol and Cafe Castemila, an independently owned café and bakery. The redevelopment of the former Lord & Taylor department store is part of a multi-phase plan at Westfield Old Orchard that was first announced in 2022. Plans also call for new residences, dining establishments, wellness facilities and outdoor amenities such as a public park and event space. More detailed plans will be unveiled in 2024.