FINDLAY, OHIO — Watseka, Ill.-based Big R has signed a 98,000-square-foot retail lease at a former Sears store in Findlay, 40 miles south of Toledo. The outdoor sporting goods store will occupy the space at the Findlay Village Mall located at 1800 N. Tiffin Ave. The building, vacant since 2014, is now under construction with a planned opening in the second quarter of 2017. This will be the second Ohio location for Big R, joining the recently opened location in Lima. Duke Wheeler of Reichle Klein Group represented the tenant in the lease transaction. JJ Gumberg Co. is the landlord for the mall.
SHELBY TOWNSHIP, MICH. — O.ME.R North America has entered into a 12,633-square-foot industrial lease in Shelby Township in western Michigan. The Italian-based manufacturer of railway interiors will occupy the space at 50570 Wing Drive. This is the company’s first location in the United States. Kris Pawlowski of Signature Associates represented the tenant in the lease transaction.
CHICAGO — City Capital Advisors has renewed its 9,148-square-foot office lease at 444 N. Michigan Ave. in Chicago. As part of the lease, the investment bank will undertake a significant renovation to its current space to improve layout and include the firm’s separate practice group, City Capital Ventures. Jon Milonas and Kyle Kamin of CBRE represented City Capital Advisors in the transaction. Emily Marquardt of The Telos Group represented the landlord.
WEST ALLIS, WIS. — The Dickman Co. Inc./CORFAC International has arranged the sale of a 7,700-square-foot industrial building in West Allis, a suburb of Milwaukee. P & Z Properties purchased the building, located at 11408 W. Lincoln Ave., from Golden Site Management LLP. Samuel M. Dickman Jr. and Samuel D. Dickman of the Dickman Co. represented the seller in the transaction, while Brett Garceau of MLG Commercial represented the buyer.
INDIANAPOLIS — Electronics and home appliances retailer hhgregg’s Inc.’s decision last week to close 88 stores — or roughly 40 percent of its total outlets — and three distribution facilities over the next two months came in the wake of a rough financial stretch for the company. Net sales decreased 23.7 percent on a year-over-year basis during the company’s most recent fiscal quarter, which ended Dec. 31, 2016, and the gross operating margin declined 4.1 percent. The net loss for the quarter was roughly $58.3 million, despite the fact that this period encompassed the holidays. The company was recently delisted from the New York Stock Exchange for failing to meet minimum requirements. Most commonly, delisting occurs when a security trades below $1 per share for 30 consecutive business days; hhgregg had not closed at or above this level since Jan. 9 of this year As a supplier of consumer goods that span several different sectors, hhgregg has been hit equally hard by the rising popularity of e-commerce and competition from other multichannel retailers like Walmart and Home Depot, both of which have enjoyed upward-trending stock prices throughout the year’s early stages. Its electronics division, in particular, was hit hard by this …
CHICAGO — Fifield Cos. and F & F Realty, in a joint venture equity partnership with Ares Management LP, has received $117.8 million in construction financing for the development of 727 West Madison, a 46-story apartment project in Chicago’s West Loop. Upon completion in late 2018, the project will comprise 492 apartment units averaging 783 square feet and approximately 10,000 square feet of retail space. Units will feature a mix of studio to three-bedroom floor plans. Designed by FitzGerald Associates Architects, the building will include amenities such as a swimming pool, yoga room, game room, resident lounge with coffee bar, movie theater, dog park and car wash area. Matthew Lawton and Danny Kaufman of HFF represented the developer by arranging joint venture equity and securing the construction financing. Bank of the Ozarks provided the loan.
COTTAGE GROVE, MINN. — CBRE has arranged the sale of Hinton Heights in Cottage Grove, 10 miles south of St. Paul, for $32 million. The 249-unit apartment property is located at 7750 Hinton Ave. South. The community features amenities such as a clubhouse with community room, game room, business center, fitness center, indoor swimming pool, sauna, hot tub, sport courts, outdoor lounge, picnic area, putting green, dog park and playground. Apartment sizes range from one- to three-bedroom units, with an overall average of 1,081 square feet. Hinton Heights was built from 1990 to 1995 and was 98 percent occupied at the time of the sale. Curtis Capital Group LLC, an entity controlled by Curtis Capital Group in Bellevue, Wash., purchased the property. Abe Appert, Keith Collins, Ted Abramson and Laura Hanneman of CBRE arranged the sale on behalf of the seller, Cottage Grove Investors IV Limited Partnership LLLP, an entity related to the St. Louis Park-based Belgarde.
CHESTERFIELD, MO. — St. Louis-based Gershman Mortgage will be moving its headquarters from a 16,000-square-foot office in Clayton, Mo. to 16253 Swingley Ridge Road in Chesterfield this month. The new office space of more than 24,000 square feet will allow the company to grow. Over 100 employees will be located at the new office. The mortgage company will be closing its existing Chesterfield location at 187 Hilltown Village Center, but will maintain its Clayton presence with an office located at 7801 Forsyth Blvd. Gershman also maintains local offices in Kirkwood, South St. Louis City and St. Peters. Additional offices in the Midwest are located in Branson and Springfield, Mo., Illinois, Iowa and Oklahoma.
KANSAS CITY, MO. — MOD Pizza has leased three 3,000-square-foot locations in the greater Kansas City metro. The new restaurants will be located at 1937 Foxwood Drive in Raymore; 5315 NE Antioch Road in North Kansas City; and 1112 NE Coronado Drive in Blue Springs. All three leases are for 10 years. MOD Pizza currently has over 200 locations nationally, and makes artisan style pizzas and salads. David M. Block and Mark McConahay of Block & Co. Inc. Realtors negotiated the lease transactions on behalf of the tenant.
CHICAGO — Illinois Action for Children has renewed its 40,000-square-foot office lease at 1340 S. Damen Ave. in Chicago. The non-profit group will remain on the second floor of the building for an additional five years. The 193,000-square-foot, Class B office building is located in the Pilsen neighborhood. Other tenants include Vitas Healthcare and Lutheran Social Services of Illinois. Julie Lane of Bradford Allen negotiated the lease renewal on behalf of the tenant.