CHICAGO — The Harold E. Eisenberg Foundation is working with alderman Toni Foulkes and the City of Chicago to host the sixth Annual Real Estate Challenge. Students from nine Midwest universities will compete for a $5,000 scholarship for their school’s real estate education program. The competition will take place at The Standard Club in Chicago on Saturday, April 9. Each year students are provided with a case site and the same information and assumptions about the property. This year’s competition will focus on a 7.4-acre site known as the Englewood Mall District. The city-owned land was formerly home to the Englewood Mall, bordered by 63rd and Halsted Streets. The case site encompasses the Englewood Square project that is being developed by DL3 Realty and the City of Chicago. The 5.5-acre project will include an 18,000-square-foot Whole Foods Market, 22,000 square feet of complementary retail and two outlot parcels. The development is scheduled for completion this fall. Each team plays the part of a separate development company responding to a Request for Proposal from the City of Chicago to form a joint venture and redevelop a dynamic project on the former Englewood Mall Site. The goal for the students is to design and …
We can expect to see a combination of new and familiar trends in the Milwaukee apartment sector in 2016 that will continue to attract investors to the local apartment market. What makes the start of 2016 different from 2015 is progress toward the normalization of monetary policy. In December, the Federal Reserve Board decided to raise the federal funds rate by a quarter percentage point, the first such increase in nearly a decade. The Federal Reserve Board’s widening may have an impact on the short-term rates, but the long-term interest rates that impact real estate values the most are influenced by the yields on the long-term U.S. Treasury bonds. We expect the long-term interest rates to stay low for the foreseeable future. When there is high demand for the Treasury bonds, the price of the bonds increase and the yields decrease, keeping long-term lending rates low. The two factors responsible for driving rates down in early 2016 are the high levels of volatility in stock markets around the globe and the drastic drop in oil prices. The volatility in the stock markets drives global capital to flow into the safe haven of bonds, and specifically the U.S. Treasury bonds, as …
CHICAGO — CBRE has arranged a $125 million refinancing loan for The Tides at Lakeshore East, a 608-unit luxury apartment tower in downtown Chicago. CBRE procured the 10-year, interest-only financing at a fixed rate with a life company lender. A joint venture between AFL-CIO Building Investment Trust and Magellan Development Group was the borrower. The Class A high-rise contains a parking garage and 4,400 square feet of ground-floor retail space. Amenities at The Tides at Lakeshore East include a fitness center, game and billiards room, outdoor pool with sundeck, hot tubs, sauna and steam rooms, a business center, sky garden lounge, coffee bar, catering kitchen and Zip Cars and electric charging stations.
MINNETONKA, MINN. — The AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust (HIT) will invest $14.8 million in the Zvago Cooperative project, a 54-unit, four-story cooperative for seniors along the banks of Glen Lake in the Minneapolis suburb of Minnetonka. The $19 million project is an expansion of the Glen Lake Redevelopment project, which includes a 52-unit mixed-use project built in 2008 and a 159-unit seniors housing community built in 2011. In addition to the 54 new seniors housing units, the expansion will offer views of Glen Lake, a community patio overlooking the lake and adjacent wetlands, and amenities such as a clubroom, fitness facility and heated underground parking. The developer for the project is OneTwoOne Development LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Ecumen, a Minnesota-based nonprofit provider of seniors housing and aging services. Zvago Cooperative is the HIT’s 76th project in Minnesota. The multifamily investment firm is based in Washington, D.C.
Associated Bank Provides $9M Acquisition Loan for Three Manufactured Housing Communities in Michigan
CANTON, BELLEVILLE AND CARLETON, MICH. — Associated Bank has provided a $9 million acquisition loan for three manufactured housing communities in the Ann Arbor area. Zeman Homes is acquiring Wagon Wheel at 51000 Mott Road in Canton, Wagon Wheel South at 51000 Michigan Ave. in Belleville and Carleton Mobile Home Park at 12500 Jones St. in Carleton. The Wagon Wheel properties were constructed in the 1970s and have a total of 377 sites. The Carleton Mobile Home Park features 228 sites. All three properties include both single-wide and double-wide homes. Jerry Rotunno of Associated Bank originated and managed the loan transaction.
NORTHBROOK, ILL. — Avison Young has brokered the sale of a 117,000-square-foot industrial property in Northbrook, approximately 25 miles northwest of Chicago, for an undisclosed price. Molto Properties sold the asset to Atlas Fibre Co. The property, situated on 4.7 acres, is located within the Sky Harbor Industrial Park. The asset features 20-foot clear heights, new mechanical systems, six interior docks, two drive-in doors and 168 parking spaces. Brett Kroner, Keith Puritz and Eric Fischer of Avison Young represented the seller in the transaction.
MILWAUKEE — Siegel-Gallagher has arranged the sale of a 2,714-square-foot office property in Milwaukee. FM-MKE Wisconsin LLC sold the Commission House, located at 400 N. Broadway (Suite 303), to Richards Pieper Sr. and Sue Pieper for an undisclosed price. John Dulmes, Dan Walsh and Marianne Burish of Siegel-Gallagher brokered the transaction.
BUFFALO, N.Y. AND CLEVELAND — Shareholders of First Niagara Financial Group (NASDAQ: FNFG) and KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY) have overwhelmingly approved the proposed merger between the two financial giants. The votes were held today at special meetings in each of the companies’ headquarters — Buffalo for First Niagara and Cleveland for KeyCorp. Over 90 percent of shareholders who voted approved of the merger. Shareholders who did not participate counted as “no” votes, but even with those accounted for, approximately 75 percent voted in favor of the merger, according to The Buffalo News. The deal totals $3.5 billion and is structured as KeyCorp acquiring First Niagara, The News reported. “I would like to thank our shareholders for their support and their vote of confidence,” says Beth Mooney, chairman and CEO of KeyCorp. “KeyBank and First Niagara are indeed better together — a powerful combination that will bring a new level of capabilities and expertise to our clients, new opportunities for our employees, and even greater investment in our communities.” KeyCorp and First Niagara entered into a merger agreement on Oct. 30, 2015. The merger is still subject to regulatory approvals. Closing is expected during the third quarter of this year. KeyCorp is …
ELGIN, ILL. — Kinzie Real Estate Group will construct a new luxury rental community in Elgin, approximately 40 miles northwest of Chicago. Kinzie, which will serve as the general contractor for Watermark at the Grove, is expected to break ground on the project in April. Watermark at the Grove will be situated on 11 acres and will include 258 units within five three-story buildings. Floor plans will include studios, one- and two-bedroom units. Amenities will feature a clubhouse, event space, a fitness facility, theater room, outdoor pool, dog park, walking trails and secure auto and bike parking. Interstate Partners LLC is the project developer.
INDIANAPOLIS —RESOURCE Commercial Real Estate has brokered the sale of a 121-unit apartment community, Abbey Meadows Apartments, for an undisclosed price. KAG Indy I LLC purchased the property from Brayden James Investments LLC. Abbey Meadows, located in Indianapolis, features all two-bedroom/one-bathroom units, which are approximately 750 square feet. The apartments were constructed in 1960. Michael Wernke of RESOURCE Commercial Real Estate arranged the transaction.