SOLON, OHIO — The Cooper Commercial Investment Group has brokered the $9.3 million sale of Kruse Commons, a two-building retail center in Solon, a suburb of Cleveland. Anchor tenants at the fully leased property include Panera Bread and Mitchell’s Homemade Ice Cream. Dan Cooper of Cooper Group represented the seller, an Ohio-based investment group. The sale, which closed at a cap rate of 6.79 percent, marks the second time Cooper Group has sold Kruse Commons within the past 18 months.
PIKE COUNTY, OHIO — OpenAI, the artificial intelligence (AI) platform best known for ChatGPT, has signed a 20-year lease agreement to be the customer at the PORTS-Pike Technology Campus, an AI data center redevelopment of the decommissioned Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant in Pike County, located in southern Ohio’s Appalachian region. The size and cost of the campus has not been released, but The New York Times reports that it will be among the world’s largest data centers and that the build-out could cost as much as $500 billion. SB Energy, a data center and power infrastructure company backed by Tokyo-based SoftBank Group Corp., will build, own and operate the campus. Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA), a hardware manufacturer of semiconductors and networking systems for AI data centers, will provide the full build-out at PORTS-Pike Technology Campus using its DSX AI factory platform — encompassing all aspects typical to an AI-ready data center, including GPUs (graphics processing units), CPUs (central processing units), servers and infrastructure software. Nvidia has secured land, power and shell (LPS) rights at the Pike County project through a partnership with SB Energy. Nvidia will immediately invest $1.5 billion in SB Energy to support the project’s build-out. SB Energy and …
LIBERTY TOWNSHIP, OHIO — Liberty Center is undergoing more than $20 million in completed, ongoing and planned investments designed to support the mixed-use destination’s next phase of growth, including future hotel and residential development opportunities. Centennial, powered by Lincoln, is serving as the asset manager for the Apollo-owned property and is leading the execution of these initiatives. Plans for the 64-acre campus in Liberty Township include tenant upgrades, first-to-market entertainment concepts, customer experience enhancements and long-term initiatives to support the property’s evolution. Development approvals for a hotel and multifamily component were recently secured. Current plans envision 300 apartment units and a full-service hotel that would complement Liberty Center’s existing mix of retail, dining, entertainment and community gathering spaces. Events by Golden Chic will introduce professionally managed meeting, conference and private event venues at the property. The partnership brings turnkey event management to Sabin Hall, a 5,200-square-foot venue, and Unity Hall, creating new opportunities for corporate meetings, conferences, weddings, nonprofit galas, private celebrations and community events. Dick’s Sporting Goods is remodeling its space with interior upgrades and experiential House of Sport-style amenities such as batting cages and golf simulators. The retailer extended its lease for 10 years. B&B Theatres is upgrading …
HOUSTON AND NEW YORK CITY — A joint venture between SparrowHawk and New York City-based Almanac Realty Investors has acquired a 20-property, 4.4 million-square-foot industrial portfolio located across six markets in the Midwest. Stockholm-based global investment firm EQT sold the portfolio for nearly $400 million. Brian Walsh, Lucas Borges, Steve Klein, Chris Pratt, Emma Berner and Christian Johnston of JLL Capital Markets secured a five-year, $236 million acquisition loan through PPM America on behalf of the buyers. “This acquisition accelerates SparrowHawk’s strategic expansion in the Midwest with a portfolio that is integral to connecting industrial occupiers to the large consumer markets driving logistics and e-commerce growth,” says Alfredo Gutierrez, president and founder of SparrowHawk. The assets, which are spread throughout St. Louis, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton and Louisville, were 94 percent leased at the time of sale to 30 tenants across multiple industries such as logistics and distribution; business and professional services; industrial and manufacturing; e-commerce and retail; and wholesale and supply distribution. According to various media sources, 50 percent of the collection by square footage is located in St. Louis, while Cincinnati holds approximately one-fifth of the portfolio. The industrial properties feature 30-foot average clear heights, extensive dock capacity, tilt-up …
FINDLAY, OHIO — Bernard Financial Group (BFG) has secured a $5.6 million acquisition loan for a 112,396-square-foot industrial facility in Findlay, about 40 miles south of Toledo. Joshua Bernard of BFG arranged the permanent life insurance company loan. The borrower was BKG Dominion 1900 Industrial LLC.
COLUMBUS, OHIO — Trident Capital Group and O’Connor Capital Partners have closed a joint venture with Clarion Partners for the third phase of Rickenbacker Industrial Center in Columbus. The 959,579-square-foot speculative industrial facility will be located at 1669 Rohr Road. Construction has begun, and completion is slated for the first quarter of 2027. Situated on 57.3 acres, the project will feature a clear height of 40 feet, 104 dock doors, 238 trailer stalls and 336 car parking spaces. The project sits within a designated Qualified Opportunity Zone and carries a 15-year, 75 percent property tax abatement. Located within the broader Rickenbacker industrial corridor, the building will offer direct rail access alongside proximity to Rickenbacker International Airport, the Norfolk Southern Rickenbacker Intermodal Terminal and I-270. Dan Wendorf, Brian Marsh and Joseph Davis of JLL are marketing the building for lease.
COLUMBUS, OHIO — The NRP Group has broken ground on OSU East, a 336-unit apartment development in Northwest Columbus. The project marks NRP Group’s first market-rate community in Columbus. The 27.5-acre development site on West Dublin Granville Road will also include 138 for-sale townhomes developed by M/I Homes of Central Ohio LLC. OSU East will consist of 11 three-story buildings with a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom homes. An 11-foot-wide bike path will be installed along the project’s frontage in coordination with the city. Amenities will include a clubhouse, fitness center, business pod with coworking space, volleyball and bocce courts, an outdoor grill area, pool, courtyards and a package delivery room. PNC Bank provided financing for the project, and the City of Columbus served as a partner throughout the entitlement and development process.
ILLINOIS, OHIO AND WISCONSIN — Quantum Real Estate Advisors Inc. has brokered the sale of a five-property retail portfolio totaling roughly 67,000 square feet. The centers are located in Aurora, Illinois; Milford and South Lebanon, Ohio; and Appleton and Kenosha, Wis. Dan Waszak and Brett Berlin of Quantum represented the seller, a private syndicator based on the East Coast. The buyer was a global real estate investment manager focused on acquiring niche property types, including essential service retail.
By John Schenk and Parker Gilmore, CBRE For two decades, Cincinnati did not see many new apartment projects built compared with its peer cities, with annual deliveries trickling along at roughly 965 units between 2000 and 2020, while merchant builders showed a preference to Columbus or Indianapolis for their predictability. But 2021 marked the beginning of a breakout period as a favorable macroeconomic backdrop, along with surging national and regional appetite, conditioned a thunderstorm of new development at the record-breaking tune of over 3,000 units per year. A combination of economic growth, demographic shifts, refreshed renter expectations and institutional capital interest has positioned Cincinnati as one of the Midwest’s most compelling multifamily investment stories as of late. The numbers tell a story of Midwestern confidence. Cincinnati recorded nearly $943 million in multifamily sales volume for 2025, representing 7,381 units traded — a dramatic increase from 2024’s $517 million and 2023’s $314 million. Blended pricing reached approximately $122,834 per unit with transaction counts on the rise as investors sought exposure to the fundamentals Cincinnati offered so well. Behind the surge in transaction activity is a fundamental shift in how developers, investors and residents are viewing the Queen City’s investment potential. A …
AVON, OHIO — Cleveland Clinic has broken ground on a $322 million expansion of Cleveland Clinic Avon Hospital and the Richard E. Jacobs Health Center. The multi-phase project will significantly increase the size of the campus, increase capacity across emergency, inpatient and outpatient services and introduce new capabilities and modernized facilities. Key components of the project include the expansion of the emergency department, expansion of imaging services, an expanded Cancer Center, growth of surgical services, expansion of the Richard E. Jacobs Health Center for increased outpatient care, increased medical-surgical capacity with additional inpatient beds, growth of the Intensive Care Unit and construction of a parking garage. Upon completion, the project will add roughly 250,000 square feet of clinical space across the hospital and health center. Avon Hospital opened in 2016 as a five-story, 126-bed facility. The Richard E. Jacobs Health Center, opened in 2011, currently provides advanced specialty and primary care, an outpatient surgery center, a chemotherapy infusion center, an imaging center and a large physical therapy area with two pools for aquatic therapy. The expansion is slated for completion in 2029. HKS architects designed the buildings in collaboration with Cleveland Clinic Buildings + Design and key clinical stakeholders. Gilbane …
