JENNINGS, MO. — City Gear, an apparel retailer, has signed a lease for 9,000 square feet at Buzz Westfall Plaza on the Boulevard, located at 8005 West Florrisant in Jennings. Grant Mechlin of Sansone Group represented the landlord, Sansone Plaza on the Boulevard LLC, in the deal.
CICERO, ILL. — Wirtz Realty is nearing completion of a 604,970-square-foot office, warehouse and distribution facility in Cicero for Wirtz Beverage Illinois (WBI), a beverage and alcohol distributor. Cicero is located about 16 miles west of Chicago. The $80 million facility will serve as WBI's Illinois hub for sales, wine and spirit distribution and training programs. Wirtz redeveloped 35 of 66 acres, formerly known as the Sportsman's Park Race Track, into an automated warehouse and distribution center connected with a two-story office and conference center. Site features include a pedestrian pathway, a public park, and a regulation-size Bobby Hull Community Ice Rink, which opened in December 2011. Chicago-based companies Cicero Warehouse LLC and 35L Sportman's LLC purchased the property from the Town of Cicero in January 2011. The facility's grand opening is scheduled for this May. The project team also includes architects Ware Malcomb, Spaceco Engineering and general contractor Ryan Cos.
KANSAS CITY, MO. — Clayco LLC has purchased an 85,000-square-foot industrial building at 1841 Vernon in Kansas City for an undisclosed price. Robert Galamba and Douglads Hedrick of Colliers International's Kansas City office represented the seller, Arvest Bank, in the deal. Alec Blackwell of Cassidy Turley represented the buyer.
PEORIA, ILL. — EM Properties is planning a multi-million renovation of its Hotel Pere Marquette in Peoria, and has scheduled a liquidation sale before the project commences. The sale begins Friday, April 13 at 10 a.m. and continue daily. The sale will include room furniture, banquet equipment, fine china, computers, historic pieces and more. Construction will begin after the liquidation and the hotel will re-open in 2013 as a Marriott hotel, connected to the Peoria Civic Center.
ANN ARBOR, MICH. — Traver Ridge Apartments II LLC has purchased Ironwood Place, a 100-unit apartment property at 2395 Leslie Circle in Ann Arbor. The buyer plans to merge the property with the adjacent 210-unit Traver Ridge, which it also owns, and operate the two properties as a single entity under the Traver Ridge name. The property is situated a few blocks away from the University of Michigan's North Campus. Rick Vidrio and Rick Brace of the Michigan office of Hendricks & Partners represented the seller, Ironwood Place Associates Limited Partnership by First Venture Development Co., in the deal.
CHICAGO — Chicago-based Bally Total Fitness has agreed to sell 39 fitness clubs to Blast Fitness Group LLC, in eight markets including St. Louis and Milwaukee. Blast plans to honor all Bally memberships associated with these markets. The transaction is expected to close May 1. J.P. Morgan Securities LLC acted as exclusive financial advisor to Bally.
LAKEWOOD, OHIO — Visconsi Cos. has sold a freestanding Sherwin Williams store in Lakewood for $1.6 million. Sherwin has approximately 9 years remaining on its 15-year lease. Mark Luttner of Luttner Real Estate Services represented the seller in the transaction. He also represented the buyer.
COLUMBUS — Ohio Employee Health Partnership has signed a 6,971-square-foot office lease at 445 Hutchinson Ave. in Columbus. Doug Falor and Randy Stephens of Cassidy Turley's Columbus office represented the landlord, Equity Office Properties, in the deal.
MENDOTA HEIGHTS, MINN. — Opus Design Build LLC has been selected by St. Thomas Academy to build a 95,000-square-foot activities center in Mendota Heights, a southern suburb of the Twin Cities. The center will include two, large gymnasiums, including a competition gym with retractable bleachers capable of seating 1,600 spectators. It will also house a fitness and weight room, locker rooms, health education classrooms and offices for coaches and physical education instructors. The new facility will be connected to the existing main school building by a two-story structure. The first story will include a school store and classroom space and the top level will include art studios and choir and band rooms. Crews will break ground in late April and the project is slated for completion this spring. Opus AE Group will serve as architect and structural engineer for the project.
HAZELWOOD, MO. — Construction is complete on a new $6 million auto dealership for Mungenast Hyundai in Hazelwood, located north of St. Louis. The new 37,500-square-foot dealership will be used for automobile sales, repair, storage and detailing. The building's features include a coffee bar and a drive-thru space for customers to drop-off and pick-up cars. Swansea-based Holland Construction Services built the facility and the architect was Chesterfield-based HDA Architects.