CHICAGO — Crescent Heights has broken ground on One Grant Park in Chicago’s South Loop. The 76-story apartment building, located at 1200 S. Indiana Ave., will include 792 luxury apartments. Completion is slated for early 2019. Rafael Viñoly designed the tower, and Rockwell Group will design the interiors of the units. The building will include a mix of studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments. S. Loop Chicago Development LLC purchased the three-acre site in 2012.
MERRIAM, KAN. — Block & Co. Inc. Realtors has acquired the former Kmart shopping center in Merriam, located about 10 miles southwest of Kansas City. The center sits on 11.8 acres at 8703 Shawnee Mission Parkway. Block & Co. plans to redevelop the property as a mixed-use development with restaurants, retail, entertainment and hotel sites. Block & Co. will handle all phases of the development including the leasing, property management and construction management. David M. Block of Block & Co. negotiated the sale on behalf of Block & Co. Bob Johnson of RH Johnson Co. negotiated the transaction on behalf of the undisclosed seller.
MILWAUKEE — Marcus & Millichap has arranged the sale of a retail building net leased to Whole Foods on Milwaukee’s east side for $22.2 million. The 53,875-square-foot store is located at 2305 N. Prospect Ave. Adam Connor of Marcus & Millichap represented the seller, Irgens. The buyer was a Seattle-based private investor. Irgens is a Milwaukee-based real estate developer.
KANSAS CITY, MO. — In a joint venture deal, the Community Development Trust (CDT) and The Millenia Cos. have acquired Kensington Heights Apartments in Kansas City. The nine-story apartment complex includes 126 units and serves low-income senior citizens and people with disabilities. Kensington Heights Apartments is located near Interstate 70 and U.S. Highway 40, and is approximately 10 minutes from downtown Kansas City. The complex serves residents who earn 60 percent of the area median income. The equity investment totaled $1.8 million, and CDT and Millenia will complete $580,000 of capital improvements to ensure the apartments are maintained as high-quality affordable housing for elderly and disabled residents. CDT is a national investor in affordable housing. Millenia is a Cleveland-based real estate company specializing in the acquisition, rehabilitation and management of affordable and market rate properties.
CHICAGO — Associated Bank has provided $36.3 million in syndicated financing for a new mixed-use development under construction in Chicago. The 11-story tower will be located at 165-171 N. Aberdeen St. and will include 13,895 square feet of street-level retail space and 43,438 square feet of office space on the fourth and fifth floors. Floors six through 10 will contain 75 apartment units consisting of 10 studios, 50 one-bedroom units and 15 two-bedroom units. The project is scheduled for completion in October 2017. MCZ Development was the borrower. @Properties is marketing the tower. Associated Bank was the lead arranger/administrative agent and provided $18.1 million. The Private Bank was co-lead arranger and also provided $18.1 million. Michael Olson of Associated Bank managed the loan and closing.
HAMMOND, IND. — DealPoint Merrill and SVN International have acquired Gateway Promenade in Hammond, located about 25 miles south of downtown Chicago. The 110,000-square-foot shopping center is anchored by Aldi and Planet Fitness. David Frank of DealPoint Merrill negotiated the transaction, while Sterling McGregor handled the due diligence for the sale. Jason Limbert, Shane Gonzales and Andro Torres of DealPoint Merrill completed the acquisition and underwriting. Wayne Caplan of SVN Chicago Commercial represented the property. The seller was Sabal Financial.
CHESTERFIELD, MO. — Knoebel Construction Inc. has moved its headquarters from Fenton, Mo. to Chesterfield in St. Louis County. The new location at 18333 Wings Corporate Drive more than doubles Knoebel Construction’s space to 9,688 square feet. The new headquarters features 18 offices organized into two wings for project management and accounting/administrative staff. The building also includes three conference rooms, a team engagement area, a full kitchen and 2,500 square feet of warehouse space. Daniel Hayes of NAI DESCO brokered the transaction. Knoebel Construction is a full-service general contractor specializing in retail development, restaurant, grocery and retail construction.
CANTON, MICH. — Dental One Partners and Sport Clips have joined the Shops of Canton. The 3,200-square-foot dental office and 1,740-square-foot men’s hair salon are located in the shopping center on Ford Road across from IKEA. With the new leases, the center is now fully leased. Other tenants include Starbucks, Sprint, Tom+Chee and MOD Pizza. Tjader Gerdom and Larry Siedell of Gerdom Realty represented the owner and procured the new tenants.
GREENFIELD, WIS. — Total Wine & Spirits has signed a 25,000-square-foot retail lease at 84South in Greenfield, a suburb of Milwaukee. The mixed-use development is being built on 48 acres near Interstate 894, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the local newspaper. Phase I is slated to open this summer. Scott Satula and Dan Rosenfeld of Mid-America Real Estate represented the landlord in the transaction.
CINCINNATI AND HOFFMAN ESTATES, ILL. — Macy’s Inc. (NYSE: M) and Sears Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ: SHLD) both announced on Wednesday plans to close a large number of department stores in an effort to improve their long-term operating performance. Macy’s will close 68 stores and Sears will close 150 non-profitable stores comprising 109 Kmart and 41 Sears locations. “We are taking strong, decisive actions today to stabilize the company and improve our financial flexibility in what remains a challenging retail environment,” says Edward Lampert, chairman and CEO of Sears Holdings. “We are committed to improving short-term operating performance in order to achieve our long-term transformation.” Jeff Green, president of Jeff Green Partners, a retail consultancy based in Phoenix that works with retailers and shopping center owners, suspects that the footprint of these department stores has contributed to the recent woes of Macy’s and Sears. “Department stores, by sheer definition, are oversized for this changing retail environment and may be a critical factor, though only one factor, in deciding which stores to close,” says Green. “It is interesting to see just how large some of the older stores on the Macy’s store closure list are. For example, two suburban stores to be …
