INDIANAPOLIS — Skender has moved into a larger Indiana office, located in the Keystone area of North Indianapolis, and more than doubled its workforce in the state to support a host of new projects under construction and in the planning stages. The Chicago-based general contractor’s presence in the region began in early 2020 when Indiana University Health (IU Health) hired Skender to assist with significant expansion and upgrades to IU Health facilities in Indianapolis and around the state. Skender’s Brian Simons relocated to central Indiana to head up local operations with a focus on expanding relationships with clients, architects, brokers and trade partners. Skender now has more than 1 million square feet of construction projects across Indiana, and the firm’s Indiana office is projecting more than 400 percent annual revenue growth in 2023. Projects span the healthcare, municipal, office and industrial sectors.
DES PLAINES, ILL. — Granite Construction has signed a 12,925-square-foot office lease at the O’Hare Offices in the Chicago suburb of Des Plaines. The transaction marks the fourth lease of the year signed at the property, which received earlier commitments from Big Mouth Media, Elara Caring and United Airlines totaling 25,525 square feet. Tony Russo and Ryan Freed of Lee & Associates are the leasing agents for the property on behalf of the landlord, Siete 7 LLC. O’Hare Offices rises five stories and totals 171,000 square feet. Amenities include a fitness center, access to food service and fully customizable office spaces. The landlord recently began a lobby renovation that will wrap up this summer. Granite Construction specializes in the transportation, water infrastructure and mineral exploration markets.
By Ted Branson, Landmark Commercial Real Estate There continues to be strong demand and a resulting shortage of industrial buildings in Wichita from 1,000 to 100,000 square feet for lease or for sale, not dissimilar from the fierce competition for housing, with prospects paying well above market rates just to keep from losing out “again” on an available property. With that, Wichita is seeing vacancies continue near 5 to 6 percent, an increase in average lease rates from $4 to $6 per square foot, and average sales prices increasing from $35 to $50 per square foot. New construction prices carry that considerably higher. That demand for space, and the increasing prices that prospects will pay, often leads to land sales and new construction. Many of the supply chain issues that caused construction to take up to two years have been improved or resolved, and several projects are underway. Developers have built several speculative warehouses, most notably in the new ICT21 Industrial Park, the former location of the Derby Oil refinery. Ron and Marty Cornejo did a masterful job of clearing the site of structural obstacles and rendering pollution issues innocuous, with Conco erecting three first-class, tilt-up concrete, high-bay warehouses, with …
CHICAGO — This summer, Vornado Realty Trust will debut new amenities at THE MART office building that it owns in Chicago. Gensler designed the revitalization project. The South Lobby now features new lounge seating with furnishings sourced exclusively from design showrooms at THE MART. An amenity space on the second floor features a 23,000-square-foot health club with state-of-the-art equipment, studios offering a full range of classes and a juice bar. A tenant-exclusive speakeasy lounge overlooks the river and new retail offerings focus on beauty, health and well-being. There is also a 21,000-square-foot conference center and workspace with meeting rooms, lounge areas, flexible programming space and a private café. Additionally, the River Park public space now includes a plaza for pedestrian traffic and gathering as well as a central lawn for community events. The outdoor space features new food and beverage offerings and new landscaping completed by Hoerr Schaudt. Totaling 4.2 million square feet, THE MART is the largest privately held commercial building in the U.S., according to Vornado. The owner also completed a round of improvements in 2016 that included the “Grand Staircase,” as well as dining destination Marshall’s Landing, a food hall and a reception and information desk.
OMAHA, NEB. — Koelbel & Co., in partnership with the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) and GreenSlate Development, has broken ground on the Innovation Hub at Catalyst, a $65 million project at the historic Omaha Mill site. The project is part of UNMC’s larger Saddle Creek redevelopment in Midtown Omaha that will serve to accelerate innovation in the healthcare industry. The Catalyst building will bring UNMC’s UNeMed and UNeTech branches together to facilitate the growth of research and innovation, and enable entrepreneurs, investors and innovators to collaborate on the former Omaha Steel Castings industrial site, which dates back to 1906. The 170,000-square-foot development will include a food hall and market, event center and collaborative office space. Completion is slated for late 2024. Koelbel previously built a Catalyst project in Denver.
NORTH AURORA, ILL. — The Opus Group has begun construction on the third and final building at Tollway Corporate Center in North Aurora. The 408,195-square-foot speculative project is a joint venture with Principal Asset Management. The building will feature immediate access to I-88 along with a clear height of 36 feet, 55 dock doors, four drive-in doors, 134 auto parking stalls and 94 trailer stalls. Completion is slated for December. Opus is the developer, design-builder, architect and structural engineer. Brian Kling and Reed Adler of Colliers and Dan Leahy and Packy Doyle of NAI Hiffman are marketing the space for lease. Opus completed the first two buildings at Tollway Corporate Center in December 2022. The properties are fully leased to Soligent Distribution, Karat Packaging and Ryder Integrated Logistics.
WEST DES MOINES, IOWA — Co-op Solutions, a southern California-based financial services company, has signed a 99,700-square-foot office lease at the Palisade Building in West Des Moines. The new office will become a flagship center for Co-op to serve its credit union clients. R&R Realty Group owns the property, which has received new brick stain and other exterior enhancements. The Palisade Building will also undergo tenant improvements and other renovations.
GLENVIEW, ILL. — Marcus & Millichap has brokered the $10.2 million sale of Shops at Glen Pointe in Glenview, about 15 miles northwest of the Chicago Loop. Located at 3700 Willow Road, the retail center consists of three buildings and is home to tenants such as Chipotle, Starbucks, Naf Naf Grill and AT&T. The property serves as an outlot to Mariano’s and LA Fitness. Sean Sharko and Austin Weisenbeck of Marcus & Millichap represented the seller, a limited liability company based in Chicagoland. An Iowa-based investment group was the buyer.
CHICAGO — A joint venture between Gencom and GD Holdings has acquired the 192-room St. Regis Chicago. The luxury hotel, which opened this week, is centrally located in the city’s Lakeshore East Loop community where the Chicago River meets Lake Michigan. While the sales price was undisclosed, JLL arranged $76 million in acquisition financing on behalf of the buyers through Värde Partners. The five-star hotel occupies the first 11 floors within a property that also houses 393 condominium units. Studio Gang Architects designed the 101-story tower, which is the third tallest in the city. Room rates start at $711 per night at the hotel, which is the first new luxury hotel to open in Chicago since 2013. Chicago-based Magellan Development Group oversaw development of the hotel, which is also part of Magellan’s 28-acre Lakeshore East master development. Magellan is retaining a partial ownership interest in the hotel. Located at 401 E. Wacker Drive, the St. Regis Chicago features nearly 12,000 square feet of meeting space, including the 5,000-square-foot Astor Ballroom. There are also 7,000 square feet of executive function rooms with views of landmarks such as the Magnificent Mile, Navy Pier, and Grant and Millennium parks. More than 21,000 square …
CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, OHIO — Flaherty & Collins Properties has broken ground on The Marquee at Cedar Lee, a $60 million luxury apartment complex in Cleveland Heights, an eastern suburb of Cleveland. Plans call for 204 units and 8,534 square feet of retail space. The parking garage will hold 225 parking spaces and there will be 42 surface lot spaces surrounding the property. Amenities will include a saltwater pool, courtyard, outdoor sky lounge, pet spa, bark park, fitness center, coworking suites and a 24-hour market. Completion is slated for spring 2025. Flaherty & Collins is developing the project as a public-private partnership with the City of Cleveland Heights. First National Bank of Omaha provided a construction loan. The project team includes general contractor Snavely Group as well as City Architecture and Project Management Consultants.