MARION, ILL. — Binswanger has brokered the sale of a 1 million-square-foot distribution center in Marion in southern Illinois. The sales price was not disclosed. The Class A facility is located on 72 acres at 1100 Glen Clarida Drive. The building, originally constructed in 1999, underwent an expansion in 2004 and a renovation in 2013. Clear heights range from 32 to 37 feet. Zach Binswanger of Binswanger represented the seller in the transaction. Neither the buyer nor the seller was disclosed.
CINCINNATI — Columbia Pacific Advisors LLC has provided a $25 million bridge loan primarily for the acquisition of a nine-property, 435-unit multifamily portfolio in Cincinnati. Kentucky-based Blue Tide Partners was the borrower. A portion of the loan proceeds will be used to refinance existing debt on nine similar properties totaling 212 units in Cincinnati that Blue Tide acquired in 2014 and 2015. Together, the 18-property portfolio is 55 percent occupied.
PLEASANT PRAIRIE, WIS. — Colliers International has negotiated a 534,384-square-foot industrial lease renewal on behalf of Arvato Digital Services in Pleasant Prairie, approximately 37 miles south of Milwaukee. Located at 11500 80th Ave., the property features 20,000 square feet of office space, 40 exterior docks, four drive-in doors and a clear height of 32 feet. CenterPoint has owned the property since 2009. Fred Regnery and Jack Rosenberg of the Chicago office of Colliers represented Arvato in the lease transaction. Arvato distributes consumer products to retail store distribution centers as well as directly to consumers.
DETROIT — Ford Motor Co. has acquired Michigan Central Station and the adjacent book depository building in Detroit, according to local media reports. The purchase price was not disclosed. The 18-story building opened in late December of 1913 as a passenger rail depot. Ford will revitalize the long-vacant property into the hub of a Corktown campus focused on advanced automotive technology. The property, which had become synonymous with urban blight, will give the automaker a hub near downtown and the ability to add hundreds of employees to the neighborhood. The seller, the Moroun family, has owned the station since the early 1990s. Executive Chairman Bill Ford Jr. will discuss plans for the building at an event on June 19. Ford’s operations will remain headquartered in Dearborn.
Construction Begins at Innovation and Research Park at Rosalind Franklin University in North Chicago
NORTH CHICAGO, ILL. — Construction is underway at the new Innovation and Research Park at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science in North Chicago. Academic and industry scientists and entrepreneurs will use the property to translate the university’s biomedical research into new treatments for disease. The university hired Cushman & Wakefield to attract international and national bioscience companies to the new science park. The four-story, 100,000-square-foot addition to the campus will feature laboratories as well as conferencing and office space for faculty, commercial startups, and healthcare and life science companies. The University Finance Foundation and Gateway Development completed the $53 million financing for the expansion late last year. Completion is expected by summer 2019.
SHILOH, ILL. — Contegra Construction Co. has broken ground on a $26 million apartment development in Shiloh, about 20 miles east of St. Louis. Known as Thirteen01 at Hartman Lakes, the property will include 216 units on 17 acres. The first of nine apartment buildings in Phase I is scheduled to be available for lease by November. The entire community is slated for completion in July 2019. Community amenities will include a fitness room, pool, fire pit, walking trail and two lakes. One-bedroom apartment rents will start at $950 per month and two-bedroom units at $1,250 per month. Greenmount Retail Center LLC is the developer.
ST. LOUIS — City Club Apartments has sold the 401-unit Central West End City Club Apartments in St. Louis, marking the company’s exit from the market. The sales price was not disclosed. City Club Apartments says that it has sold the community to focus on development in Cleveland and other Midwest and East Coast markets. This year, City Club Apartments has broken ground on communities in Detroit, Minneapolis and Cincinnati. All of the communities will feature retail space. “We have a responsibility to our investors, lenders and partners to perform at the highest level and we are reallocating our financial and human capital to several accelerating markets, including Cleveland,” says Jonathan Holtzman, CEO of City Club Apartments.
ORANGE VILLAGE, OHIO — AC Hotel Cleveland Beachwood will open at the new Pinecrest development in Orange Village, a suburb of Cleveland, this August. The 145-room hotel, designed by Meyers + Associates Architecture, will be owned and operated by DelMonte Hotel Group. The hotel will include a cocktail bar, library, business center, fitness center and ballroom. Pinecrest is an 80-acre, mixed-use project that includes apartment and office space.
Apartment rents in Detroit are now the fastest rising in the United States among the nation’s largest cities, growing at an annual rate of 5.3 percent as of May 2018, according to Yardi Matrix and RENTCafé. Across the Midwest, the apartment market remains very strong with high demand and therefore increasing rents. Jay Madary, president and CEO of Oak Brook, Ill.-based JVM Realty, spoke with REBusinessOnline to discuss the state of the market, including the pace of investment sales. JVM owns and operates Class A and B apartment communities in Midwest markets such as Cleveland, Indianapolis, Kansas City and suburban Chicago. REBusinessOnline: How would you assess the overall state of the apartment market in the Midwest? Jay Madary: I think it’s really strong. In general, supply and demand remain balanced. We’ve certainly seen a surge of new construction in most Midwestern markets, and those new units coming online have cooled rent growth a bit. Whereas we were seeing growth of 5 to 6 percent a couple of years ago, now 2 to 4 percent is more typical. But the robust job growth in the region and the historically low unemployment rates have kept demand high, and those new units are largely being …
ROSEVILLE, MICH. — Arbor Realty Trust Inc. has provided a $10.6 million bridge loan for a multifamily property in Roseville, about 20 miles northeast of Detroit. The 266-unit property is comprised of two adjoining apartment communities built between 1965 and 1972. Amenities include laundry facilities, on-site management, a playground and swimming pool. Ari Short of Arbor originated the three-year loan. The borrower was not disclosed.