MT. PLEASANT, WIS. — St. John Properties Inc. has signed leases with three office tenants for more than 30,000 square feet at Mt. Pleasant Commerce Center in Mt. Pleasant, about 30 miles south of Milwaukee. The U.S. General Services Administration will relocate approximately 25 to 30 employees from 4020 Durand Ave. in Racine to 10,150 square feet in Mt. Pleasant by year’s end. Power transmission equipment manufacturer Twin Disc Inc., based in Racine, signed a lease for 15,482 square feet and will relocate its engineering division with roughly 45 employees by year’s end. Wisconsin Early Autism Project and Total Spectrum signed a lease for 5,536 square feet for its fifth location in metro Milwaukee. The group will take occupancy in October. Greg Fax represented St. John Properties on an internal basis.
Midwest
BATAVIA, ILL. AND JACKSONVILLE, FLA. — German discount grocer Aldi has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Winn-Dixie and Harveys Supermarket as part of a larger divestiture of Jacksonville-based parent company Southeastern Grocers to various entities. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The Southeast-focused acquisition includes approximately 400 Winn-Dixie and Harveys locations across Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana and Mississippi. Aldi, which maintains its U.S. headquarters in Batavia, Ill., first established its presence in the Southeast in the mid-1990s and has since invested $2.5 billion in the region. Most recently, Aldi opened its 26th regional headquarters and distribution center in Loxley, Ala., to help support new stores in the region. The retailer plans to open 20 new locations in the area by the end of the year. Jason Hart, CEO of Aldi, says the acquisition supports Aldi’s long-term growth strategy across the country. The grocer plans to open 120 new stores this year to reach a total of more than 2,400 stores by year’s end. Aldi will evaluate which Winn-Dixie and Harveys locations will be converted into Aldi stores. The stores that are not converted will continue to operate under the Winn-Dixie and Harveys brands. Deutsche Bank served …
CHICAGO — Luxury Living has begun leasing efforts for The Medallion, a newly redeveloped boutique apartment building in Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood. JSM Venture owns the property, which is located at 3121 N. Broadway St. JSM Venture implemented a two-story addition and rooftop deck on top of a five-story parking garage. The building now features 72 apartment units. The property is also home to Intelligentsia Coffee. Monthly rents start at $1,875 for studios and $2,195 for one-bedroom floor plans. Select units are available in accordance with the City of Chicago’s Affordable Requirements Ordinance.
FOREST LAKE, MINN. — Kraus-Anderson has broken ground on the Northern Environmental Center, an $11.4 million environmental and yard waste center in Forest Lake, about 27 miles northeast of St. Paul. Designed by HCM Architects, the 30,000-square-foot county facility will serve northern Washington County. The project will include loading docks and covered drop-off areas, as well as an adjacent yard waste drop-off and pickup areas. Completion is slated for May 2025.
AURORA, OHIO — The Staubach Co. Inc. has sold a retail property occupied by CVS Pharmacy in Aurora, a southeast suburb of Cleveland, for $5.4 million. The 10,125-square-foot building is located at 118 W. Garfield Road. Woody’s Columbus Properties LLC was the buyer.
DICKINSON, N.D. — Friedman Real Estate has arranged the sale of West River Apartments in Dickinson, a city in western North Dakota. The sales price was undisclosed. The multifamily property features 234 units. Rich Deptula and Steven Silverman of Friedman brokered the transaction, further details of which were not provided.
ROUND LAKE, ILL. — Lee & Associates has brokered the $1.5 million sale of an 18,600-square-foot retail center in Round Lake, a far north suburb of Chicago. The renovated property, located across from Round Lake METRA station, is fully occupied by five tenants, including a banquet hall, barber shop, café, toddler indoor playground and martial arts studio. Rick Scardino of Lee & Associates represented the buyer, La Luz Bakery. Tyler Dechter of Baum Realty represented the seller, Mon Ami Realty LLC.
Day-to day life as a property manager in both a conventional multifamily building and student housing can be unpredictable. Hiring and staffing issues can plague many operators, resulting in the need to wear many different hats. These different hats can make it difficult for staff to fully address all of the residents’ needs. Managing a Wi-Fi system — perhaps the most crucial technology platform at any community — is one duty that the onsite team can happily offload to a third-party provider. Reliable Managed Wi-Fi Systems Roxann Campbell, vice president of regional sales at Pavlov Media, says today’s Internet-connected culture has increased the need for residents to have an absolutely reliable managed Wi-Fi system. Pavlov Media (which provides Wi-Fi & fiber services to multifamily and student properties) is an Internet service provider (ISP) that can establish connectivity throughout entire buildings while managing Internet for all of a property’s residents. This managed Wi-Fi approach benefits the buildings’ owner-operators because it offers a planned strategy for wiring and Wi-Fi signals. Routers aren’t competing against each other, as they can in communities that give their residents the option to sign up with any number of competing Internet providers. “Bulk managed Wi-Fi provides residents …
CHICAGO — McHugh Construction has topped off 1000M, a 73-story luxury apartment tower located at 1000 S. Michigan Ave. in Chicago’s Grant Park. McHugh Concrete poured the final concrete floor and completed the roof this month. Upon completion in 2024, 1000M will be one of the city’s tallest apartment buildings. The next phase of construction includes managing the glass façade installation and interior build-out. Apartments will be delivered in phases throughout 2024. There will be 738 units, ranging in size from studios to four-bedroom penthouses. Residents will have access to more than 80,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor amenity spaces, including Chicago’s highest rooftop observation deck to be located on the 73rd floor. Time Equities Inc., JK Equities and Oak Capitals are the developers, and the late Helmut Jahn designed the property. Chicago-based interior designer Kara Mann designed the unit and amenity area interiors. Cullen Construction Management is the owner’s representative.
CHICAGO — Wells Fargo’s Multifamily Capital group has arranged $145 million in construction take-out financing for Porte Apartments, a 586-unit apartment complex in Chicago’s West Loop. Intercontinental Real Estate Corp. was the borrower. The five-year loan features a fixed interest rate. Situated at 845 W. Madison St., Porte Apartments was built in 2020. Units range from 557 to 1,396 square feet. Amenities include a pool, resident lounge, fitness center, work-from-home stations, dog wash areas and private gaming areas. Ten percent of the units are designated as affordable and are set aside for residents making less than 60 percent of the area median income.