BARRINGTON, ILL. — The Pepper Family Hospice Home and Center for Care has broken ground in Barrington, with completion scheduled for spring 2010. The 47,000-square-foot facility will offer care for acute and complicated patients that can no longer receive in-home care. The building will be one of the first green hospices in the country, and is designed to achieve LEED Silver certification, as well as incorporating guidance from the Green Guide for Healthcare, a sustainable building toolkit specifically for the healthcare sector. Harley Ellis Devereaux and Hospice Design Resources partnered to provide architectural services. Pepper Construction is the general contractor and Hospice of Northeastern Illinois is the owner/developer of the $18 million endeavor.
MINNEAPOLIS — Bloomington, Minn.-based Kraus-Anderson Realty Co. has completed the sale of The Phillips Eco-Enterprise Center in Minneapolis. The 57,609-square-foot office/warehouse building, which is located at 2801 21st Ave., was a pilot project for the LEED program. David Stalsberg and Dan Mossey of Kraus-Anderson arranged the sale on behalf of the seller, The Green Institute. Greenway Office LLC, and affiliate of Wellington Management, acquired the building. The Green Institute, which has utilized the building as its headquarters since its completion in 1999, will remain a tenant in the building, occupying approximately 9,000 square feet.
SIOUX CITY, IOWA — Brent Blake of NorthMarq Capital’s Kansas City office has arranged first-mortgage financing of $3.92 million for the Clifton Estates Apartments. The 109-unit multifamily community is located in Sioux City. Borrower Bandit Inns LLC was able to secure financing, which NorthMarq arranged through its affiliate AmeriSphere Multifamily Finance, based on a 10-year term with 2 years of interest-only payments.
LANSING, MICH. ¬— Dart Development has scheduled the construction of the first speculative commercial building in mid-Michigan in 2009. The developer is planning to develop a 40,500-square-foot office/light industrial building within the Oakwood Executive Park in Lansing. The property can accommodate users in suites of up to 10,125 square feet. Each unit will include a truck door, a grade-level door and an office area.
FITCHBURG, WIS. —Milwaukee-based developer Mandel Group has acquired New Fountains Apartments, a 578-unit multifamily community located in Fitchburg. Situated on 28 acres at 5401 Williamsburg Way, the property comprises 14 buildings. Amenities include swimming pools, tennis courts, a fitness center and sand volleyball courts. The seller was a Dayton, N.J.-based private investor group. Mandel Property Services, a wholly owned subsidiary of Mandel Group, has managed the property since 2007 on behalf of the seller. During that time, occupancy rose from 80 percent to 96 percent and net operating income nearly doubled. Mandel Group secured $20 million in acquisition financing through the Wisconsin Housing & Economic Development Authority. As a condition of the financing, Mandel will rent 20 percent of the units as affordable housing. The remaining proceeds will be used to substantially renovate the community. Paul De Kruiff of the Chicago office of NorthMarq Capital arranged the transaction.
MEQUON AND FRANKLIN, WIS. — Grubb & Ellis Healthcare REIT has acquired Wisconsin Medical Office Buildings Portfolio 2, a healthcare portfolio located in the greater Milwaukee area. The portfolio contains two ambulatory surgery centers located in Mequon and Franklin. Together, the buildings total approximately 130,000 square feet, and were constructed in 2001 and 2004. Grub & Ellis acquired the portfolio as part of a sale/leaseback transaction with Aurora Health Care. It is the second such transaction between the two companies. The purchase was negotiated by Grubb & Ellis Healthcare REIT’s in-house acquisition team, with assistance from Grubb & Ellis Healthcare REIT Advisor LLC. The acquisition price was not disclosed.
WISCONSIN — Hendricks & Partners (H&P) has negotiated the sale of the Wisconsin Affordable Housing Portfolio for $8.06 million. The 14-property portfolio is located throughout the state and consists of HUD Project-based Section 8 housing for low-income, elderly residents. It contains a total of 210 housing units. The sellers were Dunn County Realty Group, Housing Development Services and Housing Management Services, all of New Richmond, Wis. The buyers were WHPC-Dunn County LLC, WHPC-Washburn County LLC and WHPC-St. Croix County, all of Madison, Wis. The sellers were represented by Robert DiPietrae of H&P’s Seattle office, Eric Taylor of the firm’s Detroit office and Ralph DePasquale of the firm’s Chicago office.
CHICAGO — NAI Hiffman has brokered the sale of a 68,000-square-foot warehouse building, located at 2229 S. Halsted St. in Chicago. The buyer, locally based Sterling Bay Cos., plans to rehabilitate the property and create loft industrial units. Brian Colson, Larry Goldwasser and Eric Fischer of NAI’s Industrial Services Group represented the seller, Sandler Sanitary Wiping Cloth Co. The purchase price was not released.
OCONOMOWOC, WIS. — Madison, Wis.-based S&L Hospitality and Pabst Farms Development Inc. have held the grand opening for the new Staybridge Suites Milwaukee West – Oconomowoc, located in Oconomowoc. The five-story hotel features 128 suites in three different configurations from studios to two bedrooms. Rooms feature works stations as well as fully equipped kitchens. Hotel amenities include complimentary guest laundry facilities, a fitness center, a 24-hour business center, a guest library, a 24-hour convenience store, an indoor pool and whirlpool, 500 square feet of meeting space, and an outdoor courtyard with a putting green and a barbecue pavilion. The hotel will be managed by S&L Hospitality under a license agreement with InterContinental Hotels Group. It is situated within the new Pabst Farms project at 1141 Blue Ribbon Dr. Pabst Farms, which is being developed by Pabst Farms Development, is a 1,500-acre, master-planned community situated near the interchange of Interstate 94 and U.S. Highway 67. The project will contain a variety of residential developments, office buildings, light industrial space, civic components, healthcare facilities, retail and restaurant space, and hotels. The new Staybridge Suites is located directly across from the new Aurora Medical Center, which is slated for completion in early 2010.
CHICAGO — Leasing has commenced for the rental component of Aqua, an 82-story mixed-use tower located in Chicago within Lakeshore East, Magellan Development Group’s master-planned community. The rental component of Aqua will occupy floors 19 to 52, comprising 474 units in a mix of studios, convertibles, one and two-bedrooms. Rents will range from $1,498 to $3,111. Residents will be able to take advantage of an amenity package that includes an 80,000-square-foot outdoor deck and a 35,000-square-foot amenity floor with fitness and business centers, a spa, media and game rooms, and a lounge. The rest of the Aqua tower will contain for-sale condominiums, a hotel and retail space. The project is also applying for LEED certification. The rental unit interiors were designed by Stanton Interior Concepts and leasing is being handled by NNP Residential.