CHICAGO — The Chicago Department of Aviation (CDA) has signed a 99,421-square-foot office lease at U.S. Cellular Plaza in Chicago. Jonathon Connor, Francis Prock and Jason Simon of Colliers represented the landlord, FCA Partners. The office property totals 637,000 square feet across three buildings. The CDA will occupy floors five through nine in the 8420 building and is relocating from a facility on the O’Hare airport grounds effective immediately. FCA has owned the property debt-free since 2011 and recently completed a $15 million capital improvement campaign. Fred Ishler of Avison Young represented CDA.
GRANDVILLE, MICH. — Poag Development Group has invested more than $1.3 million into property improvements at its recently acquired RiverTown Crossings, a 1.3 million-square-foot regional mall in Grandville near Grand Rapids. The two-story enclosed mall features five anchors — Macy’s, Kohl’s, JC Penney, Celebration Cinemas and Dick’s Sporting Goods. Poag purchased the property in September. The improvements included cleaning up and installing new landscaping, fixing the merry-go-round and significant repairs to the parking lot. Poag aims to redevelop the mall into a mixed-use lifestyle center with restaurants, entertainment and potential residential and hotel uses. The Memphis-based developer is working with JLL as its leasing partner to maximize the potential of the property.
OVERLAND PARK, KAN. — Chase Bank and 7 Brew are slated to open at the Oslo Marketplace in South Overland Park, a suburb of Kansas City. The lease signings represent the first announcements in the new development. Mark McConahay and David Block of Block & Co. Inc. Realtors represented the owner, Frey Development, in the negotiations. Oslo Marketplace is the retail component to the redevelopment of the former Frey and Frey Mission Gardens Nursery site, which had been in business since 1972. Also part of the project is Oslo Living, which is nearly complete with 413 luxury apartment units developed by Ryan Cos. Four pad sites remain available.
MINNEAPOLIS — A joint venture between Cross Ocean Partners, Neuberger Berman Special Situations client funds and Onward Investors has acquired Wells Fargo Center, a 57-story office tower located at 90 S. Seventh St. in Minneapolis’ downtown commercial district. The 1.2 million-square-foot trophy building traded hands for an undisclosed price. Wells Fargo Center is the third tallest building in Minneapolis. Major tenants include a Wells Fargo branch bank, Colliers, the law firm of Faegre Drinker and the local office of accounting firm KPMG. The building contains an indoor pedestrian promenade that houses a 100-foot-high domed ceiling rotunda on one side and a lobby on the other. The building also features The Reserve, which houses amenities such as a fitness center, reservable wellness rooms, lounge with coworking and focus rooms, conference center and catering kitchen on the seventh floor. The property also offers private car and bicycle parking. Wells Fargo Center was 62 percent leased at the time of sale, with up to 110,000 square feet of contiguous availability. The building has averaged roughly 95 percent occupancy since 1988, according to Onward Investors. “This acquisition epitomizes our fundamental value investment strategy of opportunistically capitalizing upon market dislocation and demonstrates Onward Investors’ continued commitment …
KANSAS CITY, MO. — OpenStore has selected the Kansas City market for its first-ever fulfillment center. The 113,000-square-foot facility is expected to create 46 new jobs and bring $2 million in new annual payroll to the region in the next five years. OpenStore is the largest operator of businesses on Shopify, distributing goods across a range of beauty, home goods, apparel and electronics. The Kansas City distribution center, located at Executive Park Logistics Center, represents a $5 million capital investment and positions OpenStore to provide faster and more efficient service to its growing portfolio of 40 e-commerce brands. The Miami-based e-commerce company says it selected Kansas City due to its central U.S. access point and its robust labor pool with distribution industry experience. The Kansas City region offers access to 90 percent of the contiguous U.S. in two days or less by truck. The Kansas City Area Development Council promotes the region’s business and lifestyle assets to companies and talent around the world.
CHICAGO — Skender has completed interior construction of the new 35,000-square-foot headquarters for architectural firm SCB in Chicago. The company relocated from 625 North Michigan to the historic AMA Plaza building, which was designed by famed architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. SCB designed its new space on the 25th floor that features a mix of open office, conference rooms, collaboration spaces, a café, library and private executive offices. The build-out also features a shop that enables the firm to create design models for client presentations. A custom 3D model wall in the lobby highlights SCB’s impact on the city’s skyline. The project team also included Syska Hennessy Group as the engineer and JLL as owner’s representative.
WAUKESHA, WIS. — Irgens is underway on the conversion of an office property to healthcare space in the Milwaukee suburb of Waukesha. The 58,223-square-foot building is part of Stone Ridge Business Park. Irgens recapitalized the project, and construction is set to begin later this month. Renovations will include HVAC upgrades, lobby and common area updates, a new fitness and conference center, and new external signage. EUA is the architect, Catalyst Construction is the general contractor and Summit Credit Union is providing financing. The project, named Stone Ridge Medical Commons, is slated to open in spring 2025. Visage Facial Plastic Surgery and Retina & Vitreous Consultants of Wisconsin have both signed leases at the property and will open offices next year. Ben Anderson of Colliers represented Visage. Markel, the building’s original anchor tenant, is relocating to Research One in the Milwaukee County Research Park.
NEW BALTIMORE, MICH. — Bernard Financial Group (BFG) has arranged a $22 million loan for the refinancing of Aspen Creek Apartments in New Baltimore, a city in eastern Michigan. The apartment property features 776 units. Joshua Bernard of BFG arranged the loan through Securian Life Insurance Co. on behalf of the borrower, Aspen Creek Apartments LP.
WINAMAC, IND. — Sullivan Development LLC has broken ground on Willow Creek Villas, a 34-unit affordable housing community in Winamac, a city in northwest Indiana. The development site is within walking distance of a shopping plaza and the largest grocery store in the county, Sanders Foods. Completion is slated for late 2025, and the $9.9 million project will include five buildings. The Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority awarded tax credits through the 2024 Rental Housing Tax Credit General Set-Aside. The project is made possible through collaboration with local partners, including Winamac Town Manager Brad Zellers, Nathan Origer of the Pulaski County Community Development Commission, Charles Mellon Jr. of the Pulaski County Board of Commissioners, and service partners Community Foundation of Pulaski County and PEAK Community Services.
By Cody Foster, Advisors Excel Topeka, the capital city of Kansas, has a population of approximately 125,000 people, located in a 12-county region with over 531,000 residents. The region’s population has grown over the past five years and is expected to increase by another 2.1 percent between 2023 and 2028. With an unemployment rate of around 3.5 percent as of mid-2024, the city’s economic outlook remains stable, providing a solid foundation for redeveloping key commercial properties — including the West Ridge Mall, the third-largest indoor shopping center in Kansas at 992,000 square feet. Since it opened in 1988, the West Ridge Mall has been a significant part of the city’s commercial landscape. The site features ample parking and anchors the Wanamaker Road commercial corridor, the region’s most significant retail hub, which garnered $1 billion in retail, grocery and dining spending during the past 12 months. However, like many malls nationwide, it faces challenges in a rapidly evolving retail environment. Retail trends: following consumer behavior The West Ridge Mall has seen a steady decline in business and occupancy over the last decade. Anchor stores Macy’s and Sears closed in 2012 and 2018, respectively. Various management companies tried to keep the retail …