KENOSHA, WIS. — The Chicago office of Tremont Realty Capital has secured financing for Oakwood MHC, a manufactured housing community in Kenosha. The $4.5 million loan will be used to refinance the 215-unit community. The 5-year, non-recourse loan provided for approximately 63 percent loan-to-value with a 5.25 percent interest rate. Tremont’s Tom Lorenzini arranged the loan on behalf of the undisclosed borrower.
CLEVELAND — Calfee, Halter & Griswold LLP has signed a 20-year lease to occupy the historic Rockwell Building, which is located at 1403 E. 6th St. in Cleveland. The company’s more than 300 attorneys and staff will relocate to the seven-story office building, which will be renamed The Calfee Building, in late 2011. The building has 115,000 square feet of additional expansion space available over the planned adjacent parking garage. Calfee is partnering with the building owner, Steve Calabrese and CRM, on its construction build-out. The team is seeking a LEED Interior Design and Construction certification for the project, which will feature a rooftop garden, decreasing energy consumption through individual control options, increasing energy efficiency with new windows and lighting, and recycled materials.
OAK CREEK, WIS. — CenterPoint Properties Trust has acquired Oakwood Crossings Business Center I, a 139,726-square-foot industrial building located in Oak Creek. The newly constructed property sold for $8.7 million. Designed by Opus Architects & Engineers, the property features 26-foot clean heights, an ESFR sprinkler system, two drive-in doors and 14 fully equipped truck docks. Jed Degnan and Chad Vande Zande provided in-house representation for CenterPoint; Dave Everson provided in-house representation for the seller/developer, Rosemont, Ill.-based Opus North Corp.
HAZELWOOD, MO. — St. Louis-based Pinnacle Contracting is managing the $3 million expansion of a warehouse and distribution facility for Community Tire. Located on Pershall Road in Hazelwood, the existing 185,000-square-foot property will receive a 61,000-square-foot expansion. The company’s Hazelwood facility serves more than 3,000 customers in Missouri, Illinois, Iowa and Indiana. Core 10 is providing architectural services for the project, which is scheduled for completion this fall. Additional sub-contractors include Budrovich Excavating Inc., Vee-Jay Cement Contracting Co., Kupferer Brothers Iron Work, Kmeier Roof Systems, Mehaffy Door & Hardware Co., FireTech, Systemaire and Kaemmerlen Electric Co.
OAK BROOK, ILL. — Boston-based The Davies Companies has partnered with Northbrook, Ill.-based Arthur Goldner & Associates to form DIV Oak Brook LLC and acquire The Crossings, a two-building office complex located at 1420 and 1520 Kensington Road in Oak Brook. The 17-acre property offers 303,515 square feet of Class A office space. The property, which is currently 66 percent leased, also features an on-site daycare facility, a full service sundry shop, an on-site café and a fitness center. The ownership has selected NAI Hiffman to provide landlord-leasing services. The NAI Hiffman team includes Daniel O’Neill, Jim Adler, Pat Kiefer and Garrett Scultz. Additional terms of the transaction were not released.
AURORA, ILL. — Woodridge, Ill.-based Morgan/Harbour Construction has completed the renovation of USA Athletic Club & Spa in Aurora. Located at 1975 Melissa Lane, the 24-year fitness club features fitness classes, youth programs, personal training and massage therapy. Morgan/Harbour completed a locker room update, which included the replacement of tiles, decks and drains. The club features locker rooms, sauna and steam rooms, indoor and outdoor tracks, and pools. Morgan/Harbour’s Warren Seil served as project manager, while Jay Mumm served as project superintendent.
CHICAGO — High Street Equity Advisors has acquired a seven-building industrial portfolio that is located throughout Chicago’s Greater O’Hare submarket. The 471,809-square-foot portfolio sold for an undisclosed price. The portfolio consists of first- and second-generation buildings, which are fully occupied by a diverse group of seven tenants. Michael Caprile, Ted Staszak, Pat McCourt and Stephanie Park of CB Richard Ellis represented the undisclosed seller in the transaction.
VAN BUREN TOWNSHIP, MICH. — Southfield, Mich.-based Bernard Financial Group has arranged $13 million in financing for Westlake Apartments in Van Buren Township. The 510-unit multifamily property contains 446,510 square feet of rentable space. Dennis Bernard and Kevin Kovachevich of Bernard Financial originated the loan for Occidental Development. Minnesota Mutual Life Insurance Co. funded the financing.
BELVIDERE, ILL. — North Carolina-based New Breed Logistics has leased 50,000 square feet of distribution space in Belvidere. The third-party logistics company leased the space for an undisclosed price. Steven Tick of Podolsky Northstar and David Saltzman of Newmark Knight Frank represented the tenant; Shane Van Sickle provided in-house representation for the landlord, LandMark Real Estate Group, in the transaction.
It’s no secret that the greater Detroit area suffered a double hit in the last 4 years, first from the well-publicized decline in auto sales and then from the 2008 crash and lengthy downturn.Despite the economic gyrations, however, there is a considerable upside and leasing momentum to talk about. Several new-to-the-market retailers, restaurants and fitness chains are landing in the region, including ULTA, which has done 10 deals in the last 7 months in mostly high-income areas. Discount grocer ALDI has opened 20 stores in the past 18 months, most often purchasing land to build 12,000-square-foot stores in high-density, middle-income areas. Other new retailers to the market are Five Below, Christmas Three Shops, buybuyBABY, Yankee Candle, clothier Citi Trends and a new concept by local furniture giant Art Van called Pure Sleep. Five Guys Burgers and Fries, Fat Burger and Chipotle have also moved into the market, as have Fitness 19, Planet Fitness and their much larger competitor LA Fitness. LA Fitness is opting for 50,000-square-foot locations, both stand-alone and retrofit, primarily in professionally oriented, mid-to-upper income areas. The chain has opened eight locations in the market, and in the past 2 years, it has built clubs in such high-traffic …