OMAHA, NEB. — Q10 | Daisley Ruff Financial has arranged $5 million in permanent financing for the 63-unit phase of Pinhook Flats apartment community in Omaha. Bob Chalupa, senior vice president at Q10 | Daisley Ruff Financial, arranged the 10-year, non-recourse loan that includes a fixed interest rate of 4 percent. Pinhook Flats is located at 6440 Cedar St. in the Aksarben Village area of Omaha.
DES PLAINES, ILL. — Brennan Investment Group LLC and DLJ Real Estate Capital Partners LLC have acquired approximately eight acres at 1780 Birchwood Ave. in Des Plaines. The partnership plans to build the Northeast O'Hare Industrial Center, a 140,000-square-foot warehouse and distribution building that will feature 32-foot clear ceiling heights, at the site. The development is located near Interstates 90 and 294 in Chicago's O'Hare Industrial submarket. Jonathan Kohn and Thomas Rodeno of Colliers International have been retained to market the property on behalf of Brennan Investment Group and DLJ Real Estate Capital Partners. The project is slated for completion in the third quarter of 2014.
SUN PRAIRIE, WIS. — Colony Brands Inc. has signed a 427,000-square-foot, long-term lease at Sun Prairie Business Park in suburban Madison. Colony will fully occupy the industrial property, which includes 17,100 square of office space on two levels and 31 loading docks. The property is located at 1615 Commerce Drive in Sun Prairie. Scott Furmanski, first vice president, and Chase Brieman, vice president at CBRE, represented the building’s owner, STAG Industrial Inc., in the transaction.Colony Brands, formerly known as The Swiss Colony Inc., is a provider of cheese and food gifts, holiday collectibles, apparel accessories and more.
OMAHA AND LINCOLN, NEB. — Johnson Capital has arranged a $50.5 million loan secured by a portfolio of 11 retail properties in Nebraska and South Dakota. The 11 neighborhood retail centers total 1.5 million square feet and are located in metro Omaha, Lincoln and Sioux City, Neb., and in Rapid City, S.D. The properties range in size from 34,388 square feet to more than 315,000 square feet. The portfolio was 70 percent leased to a diverse tenant mix at the time of the transaction. The borrower is a locally based investor and manager who began acquiring the properties in 2003. Jefferies/LoanCore provided the financing, which refinanced a CMBS loan the borrower received in 2006. While the loan did not mature until 2016, the lender accepted a substantial discount to the current loan balance. The new non-recourse, 10-year loan includes a fixed interest rate and three years of interest-only payments. Proceeds from the loan will be used to retire existing debt, cover transaction costs, pay leasing commissions and provide capital for tenant improvements. Amos Smith and Ryan Chapman, senior vice presidents in the Irvine, Calif. office of Johnson Capital, arranged the financing.
CHICAGO — Aon Corp., an insurance brokerage and consulting firm, has selected Reed Construction to complete a 375,000-square-foot renovation of its Chicago office. The project includes updating conference rooms with new aluminum and glass office fronts, the addition of new break rooms on 12 floors and new reception desks. Reed Construction will also renovate 19 private meeting rooms, 13 private offices and four pantries. Once complete, The Aon Center will also feature millwork door frames and sidelites, marble floor tile for the third-floor elevator lobby and reception area, along with new paint and carpet throughout. Reed Construction will renovate a total of 13 floors. The project is expected to be completed by February 2014. The Aon Center is located at 200 E. Randolph St. in Chicago’s central business district. Bryan Krueger, principal, and Steve Sandquist, project manager for Reed Construction, will oversee the project. IA Interior Architects is providing design services.
WICHITA, KAN. — The Opus Group has completed construction of the 36,000-square-foot statewide headquarters for the Kansas Leadership Center and conference center for the Kansas Health Foundation in Wichita. The headquarters marks the first new office building in downtown Wichita in 40 years, according to the Opus Group. The facility is designed as a flexible space, fulfilling multiple functions for the organization, including hosting conferences, group meetings, lectures and training sessions. Building features include a main atrium and stair in the center of the building with views into classrooms and other areas; a town hall on the first floor with seating for more than 200 participants; full catering kitchen; and office space for employees. Opus Design Build LLC served as the design-builder on the project, and Opus AE Group Inc. was the architect and engineer of record.
SAINT CROIX FALLS, WIS. — Marcus & Millichap has arranged the $1.8 million sale of Pine Ridge Apartments, a 32-unit apartment property in Saint Croix Falls, a city in northwest Wisconsin. Evan Miller, Dan Linnell, Josh Talberg and Jon Ruzicka, investment specialists in Marcus & Millichap’s Minneapolis office, marketed the property on behalf of the seller, a private investor. Mox Gunderson, also in Marcus & Millichap’s Minneapolis office, represented the buyer, a private investor. The sales price closed at 103 percent of the original listing price, according to Marcus & Millichap. Pine Ridge Apartments is located at 317-323 Simonson Road and features two-bedroom units and six buildings, two of which are garages.
The Columbus industrial real estate market has continued down a path of decreased vacancy and increased build-to-suit activity. Many developers and tenants are trying to determine if this space tightening is going to continue or diminish in the coming months. Industrial real estate experts who had their pulse on the market accurately predicted a year ago that absorption would be taking place at a healthy clip at the end of 2012 heading into 2013. This change in the market has resulted in limited options for tenants seeking space above 100,000 square feet. Meanwhile, developers are considering the possibility of building warehouses on a speculative basis and tenants are seeing a change in economics and concessions from previous years. Pendulum Swings The current 7.6 percent industrial vacancy rate in the Columbus market is at an all-time low. You have to go back to the late 1990s and early 2000s to find a period when the vacancy rate was nearly as low as it is today. The recent lack of space availability is starting to impact tenant choices. A tenant that used to have six or seven options for a 400,000-square-foot warehouse space is now finding that it only has two to …
LAKE FOREST, ILL. — L3 Capital, a Chicago-based real estate investment firm, has acquired Market Square, a historic retail property with 26 retailers and restaurants in Lake Forest for $35.5 million. The shopping center features a mix of national and local retailers, including Williams-Sonoma, J. Crew, Bluemercury and Talbots, as well as Kiddles Sporting Goods, Forest Bootery and The Lake Forest Shop. As part of L3’s strategy, the firm intends to invest heavily over the next two years in Market Square with an intensive marketing plan, infrastructure upgrades, life safety upgrades and historic restoration projects. The property consists of seven buildings and totals 100,000 square feet, with 50,000 square feet of retail and 50,000 square feet of office space. The addresses for Market Square include 653 Bank Lane, 659 Bank Lane, 722 Bank Lane and 675 Forest Ave. Market Square was originally developed in 1916 for $750,000 as part of an improvement plan for the Lake Forest area, a northern suburb of Chicago.
GLENDALE, ILL. — Berkeley Point has closed $20.7 million in acquisition financing for the acquisition of Stonegate Apartments, a 420-unit apartment community in Glendale Heights, a western suburb of Chicago. The seven-year loan includes a fixed interest rate and a 30-year amortization schedule. The borrower will provide an additional $1.2 million to fund property upgrades. The borrower is Stonegate Holdings GH LLC, an entity formed by Chicago-based Rockwell Partners. Adam Randall, managing director, led the Berkeley Point capital team that arranged the Freddie Mac loan and introduced Riverbanc as the preferred equity partner in the deal.
