CHICAGO — Lessen, a tech-enabled solution for outsourced real estate property services, has opened its new 76,932-square-foot office at 203 North LaSalle Street in downtown Chicago. The 17-story building is situated in the city’s Central Loop tech district adjacent to Google’s forthcoming Chicago office in the Thompson Center. Lessen first entered the Chicago market in 2023 after its acquisition of technology company SMS Assist for $950 million, the largest proptech merger in U.S. history, according to the company. Lessen partners with residential and commercial owners and occupiers who collectively manage over 1 million locations.
FRANKLIN PARK, ILL. — General contractor F.H. Paschen has broken ground on an 80-unit seniors housing community in the western Chicago suburb of Franklin Park, which is part of Leyden Township. Evergreen Real Estate Group is the developer for the project, which is named Leyden Senior Apartments. The four-story residential building will also feature the new Carl Fiorito Senior Center, a one-story community center that will complement the apartments. Designed by Weese Langley Klein Architects and scheduled to open in summer 2026, the development is a collaborative effort between Leyden Township, Evergreen, owner Leyden Apartments LP and F.H. Paschen. Evergreen will also serve as property manager. The project site is 2.8 acres of vacant land located at the intersection of Mannheim Road and Nevada Avenue. The development is financed through multiple sources, including the Illinois Housing Development Authority, Bank of America, Hudson Housing, Leyden Township and the Cook County Department of Planning and Development. Mesirow Financial participated in the underwriting syndicate for the IHDA financing and served as the lead underwriter for Leyden Township’s General Obligation bond offering.
BLUE SPRINGS, MO. — Hanley Investment Group Real Estate Advisors has brokered the sales of two adjacent retail buildings in the Kansas City suburb of Blue Springs. The sales price was undisclosed, but the combined transaction size exceeded $5 million with a blended cap rate in the low 6 percent range. The single-tenant, net-leased properties are occupied by Heartland Dental (4,200 square feet) and Starbucks (2,312 square feet). Both were constructed in 2024. Jeff Lefko and Bill Asher of Hanley, in association with Jay Ferguson of Ferguson Properties Inc., represented the seller and developer of both buildings, Ferguson Properties and Foresight Real Estate. Peter Winterling of Kidder Mathews represented the buyer of the Heartland Dental-occupied property, a private 1031 exchange investor from California’s Central Valley. John Martin of Lee & Associates represented the buyer of the Starbucks-occupied asset, a private 1031 exchange investor from Southern California.
BELLEVILLE, MICH. — Dwight Mortgage Trust, the affiliate REIT of Dwight Capital, has provided an $88.5 million bridge acquisition loan for The Waverly on the Lake in Belleville, a western suburb of Detroit. Spanning 99 acres along the shores of Belleville Lake, the garden-style multifamily property features 1,046 units. The waterfront community offers residents exclusive access to a boat launch and 42 private boat slips in addition to a newly renovated clubhouse, fitness center, barbecue grills, firepits, a pool and picnic areas. The asset also features over two miles of walking trails and dedicated dog parks. Loan proceeds will facilitate the acquisition of the property, fund capital expenditures for unrenovated units and cover closing costs for Pepper Pike Capital Partners. David Scheer of Dwight originated the loan.
NORTH CANTON, OHIO — Axiom Realty has acquired The Venue at Belden, a 157,632-square-foot shopping center in North Canton, about 18 miles south of Akron. Situated in the heart of the Belden Village trade area, the property is home to anchor tenants Burlington, TJ Maxx, HomeGoods and Earth Fare, which collectively occupy more than 60 percent of the center’s gross leasable area. The asset has undergone significant redevelopment in recent years. Axiom says it plans to enhance the tenant mix, optimize operations and drive long-term value.
DARIEN, ILL. — Marcus & Millichap has brokered the sale of The Jade Residences of Waterfall Glen in Darien for an undisclosed price. Built in 2024, the apartment complex features 70 units and is situated on 2.8 acres at 2305 Sokol Court. Units average 977 square feet. Amenities include a fitness center, party room, dog park and barbecue area. Ryan Engle, Kyle Stengle and Andrean Angelov of Marcus & Millichap represented the seller, a private investor. Engle and Angelov procured the buyer, a private investor.
MANCHESTER, MO. — Holland Construction Services and architect HDA have completed an exterior renovation of Mungenast Lexus of St. Louis, a 70,000-square-foot auto dealership in the western St. Louis suburb of Manchester. The project included metal cladding, dark column accents and a new entryway with a prominent Lexus logo. The building features a two-story showroom, 32 service bays, a café and car wash/detail area. HDA originally designed the facility in 2009 as the first LEED Silver-certified Lexus auto dealership in the country.
WHEATON, ILL. — SVN Chicago Commercial has arranged the sale of a 35,400-square-foot office building located at 330 S. Naperville Road in downtown Wheaton for $1.9 million. The transaction closed at 97.5 percent of the asking price. The property features 23 executive suites, and was 72 percent occupied at the time of sale. Karen Kulczycki of SVN represented the seller. Buyer information was not provided.
MILWAUKEE — Crow Holdings has broken ground on a new air cargo facility at the Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport (MKE). The project will transform a significant portion of the former 440th Airlift Wing, now known as the MKE Regional Business Park, into a 337,000-square-foot air cargo facility featuring a dedicated air cargo building, a new Milwaukee County highway maintenance facility to support both county and state transportation needs and enhancements to adjacent taxiways to improve accessibility for wide-body cargo aircraft. The facility will have the capacity to accommodate five B747-400 aircraft at the same time and is expected to generate over $1.3 million in annual aircraft landing fees as well as over $1 million in annual ground lease rents and fees. The former 440th campus was turned over to the airport in 2008. Since that time, the underutilized property has been marketed to developers. Some of the buildings are currently used by the airport while others have been leased to a variety of short-term tenants. According to a news release, the public-private project will create new jobs at the airport and has the potential to attract new passenger airlines and destinations, as well as air cargo services, by lowering the …
AURORA, ILL. — FCL Construction has completed a 210,000-square-foot data center for Edged in Aurora. Ware Malcomb provided architecture and interior design services for the building, which is situated on a 65-acre campus that will ultimately feature 96MW of capacity powered by renewable energy. Seefried Industrial Properties was the developer. Edged is a sustainable infrastructure provider. The new Edged campus was designed to be a model for modern engineering and sustainable infrastructure initiatives and uses significantly less energy than traditional data centers. Among the campus features is a waterless cooling technology that ensures operational efficiency while setting a new industry standard for power usage effectiveness. Other sustainable highlights include onsite solar generation, electric vehicle charge points and alternative fuel-powered backup generators. The building interior can accommodate colocation of multiple tenants and includes 13,000 square feet of office space with a lobby, conference room and break room. The exterior design features a glass façade on the north and south sides, added at the request of the city to enhance visual appeal along the adjacent tollway.