CHICAGO — Chicago-based Cohen Financial has arranged $28.2 million in acquisition financing for LLJ Ventures LLC. The California-based buyer has purchased several properties in the state of Illinois and Wisconsin. In the first transaction, Dan Rosenberg of Cohen Financial arranged an $11 million loan with a 10-year term for The Armitage Collection, a portfolio of five retail buildings in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago. The buildings in the portfolio are 100 percent leased. In the second transaction, Rosenberg arranged a $17.2 million, 10-year CMBS loan for a 57,000-square-foot medical office, Racine Dental, in Racine, Wis.
PRINCETON, MINN. — Lancaster Pollard has arranged a $6 million FHA loan to refinance Sterling Pointe Senior Living, a 57-unit independent living, assisted living and memory care community in Princeton, approximately 50 miles north of Minneapolis. The community was originally built in 2011. Ownership wanted to refinance its existing debt using FHA/HUD in order to benefit from the long-term low interest rates and nonrecourse feature, as well as pay off a TIF (tax increment financing) loan. Quintin Harris, senior vice president with Lancaster Pollard in Minneapolis, led the transaction.
GRAND RAPIDS, MICH. — Entre Commercial Realty LLC, along with First Cos. Inc., has completed the development of a 65,000-square-foot industrial building in Grand Rapids. The build-to-suit facility for Holland, a Michigan-based regional transportation company that is a subsidiary of YRC Worldwide, features a 110-door truck terminal, 6,000 square feet of office space and a separate 16,000-square-foot drive-thru maintenance facility. The building is located at 10151 S. Division St. and is situated on 25 acres of land. Holland has signed a 15-year lease for the facility. First Cos. acted as the construction manager, Dixon Architecture provided architectural services and Exxel Engineering performed civil engineering services. Ken Szady of Newmark Grubb Knight Frank represented the development group and procured the funding, which WP Carey Inc. provided.
CHICAGO AND NILES, ILL. — Wool Finance Partners has arranged $4.2 million in financing for two industrial properties in Illinois. In the first transaction, Wool Finance Partners arranged a $2 million refinancing loan for a 50,000-square-foot, net-leased property in the Fulton Market district of Chicago. The borrower was undisclosed, and a regional bank provided the capital for the non-recourse loan, which has a three-year term. Matt Lebenson of Wool Finance Partners brokered the transaction. In the second deal, Martin Siegel of Wool Finance Partners arranged a $2.2 million loan for the acquisition and redevelopment of a 78,000-square-foot property in Niles. The financing for the single-tenant, net-leased building was placed on behalf of an undisclosed local borrower. The non-recourse loan features a 10-year term.
WEST LAFAYETTE, IND. — Prime Property Investors has sold a 25-building student housing portfolio near Purdue University in Indiana for $47.2 million. The portfolio includes a total of 777 beds. Prime Property Investors owned and managed all of the buildings, which include a mix of studio, one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom units. The buildings operated at 100 percent occupancy in the 10 years that Prime Property Investors owned them. Prime Property Investors sold the assets in 18 separate transactions. The undisclosed buyers included a combination of local, national and foreign investment groups. Purdue University had a fall 2015 enrollment of 39,000 students.
INDIANAPOLIS — A private equity investment fund has purchased Traditions at Reagan Park and Traditions at Solana, both independent living, assisted living and memory care communities in the Indianapolis metropolitan area, for $44.8 million. Greystone, a real estate lending, investment and advisory company, arranged the deal through its Real Estate Advisors group. The seller was Leo Brown Group. Traditions at Reagan Park and Traditions at Solana are both newly constructed communities with 81 units and 105 units, respectively.
WEST DES MOINES, IOWA — NorthMarq Capital has arranged a $27 million refinancing loan for a 250-unit multifamily property in West Des Moines. Broadmoor at Jordan Creek II is located at 6500 Ep True Parkway. The transaction was structured with a 10-year term and 30-year amortization schedule. NorthMarq arranged the financing for the undisclosed borrower through Freddie Mac.
LAKE GENEVA, WIS. — Colliers International has brokered the sale of an apartment community in Lake Geneva, for $8.4 million. Geneva Meadows Apartments is a 108-unit apartment complex located at 1157 S. Wells St. Geneva Meadows LLC sold the property, which it has owned since the property’s construction in 1992. GPC Real Estate LLC acquired the complex, which is 97 percent occupied. All units at Geneva Meadows Apartments are two-bedroom/one-bathroom units that are 1,000 square feet. Brian Pohl and Tyler Hague of Colliers International represented the seller in the transaction. Jim Loarie of Oxford Development represented the buyer.
ELK GROVE VILLAGE, ILL. — MB Real Estate has brokered the sale of a 24,910-square-foot retail property in Elk Grove Village, approximately 25 miles northwest of Chicago. A private family purchased Strawberry Hill Plaza for $6.8 million as part of a 1031 exchange. Located at 601-633 Meacham Road, the shopping center was built in 1986 and is situated on 3.1 acres. The building is a single-story, multi-tenant center that has parking for 172 vehicles. Tenants at Strawberry Hill Plaza include Subway, The Great American Bagel and Merlin Muffler. McDonald’s and Taco Bell are both situated on outparcels to the shopping center. David Kimball and Jay Beadle of MB Real Estate represented the buyer in the transaction. Adrian Mendoza, Austin Weisenbeck and Sean Sharko of Marcus & Millichap represented the undisclosed seller, which had owned the property since its construction in 1986.
When talking about the retail sector, the economy has to be part of the conversation. Trends in retail concepts follow consumer behavior. In 2010, when the recovery began, wealthy consumers were the first to return to the marketplace. Not surprisingly, luxury retail concepts followed these wealthy shoppers. To appeal to consumers who were experiencing a slower recovery and to address the concerns of consumers who were still budget-conscious coming out of the downturn, discount retailers and off-price concepts also flooded the market at the same time. These two ends of the spectrum have dominated the retail landscape, leading to challenges for the middle-priced retailers. Despite the acceleration of the economic recovery, these retailers will continue to face challenges as many consumers have maintained a fiscally conservative, or even frugal, mindset. E-Commerce Has Clout The prediction that the advent of the Internet would spell the death of the brick-and-mortar store has not come to fruition. However, e-commerce’s impact on retail is certainly undeniable. Although 75 percent of retail sales still take place in stores, consumers are becoming more educated about products and prices as a result of the Internet. Consumer surveys show that 75 percent of millennials use the Internet to …