CREVE COEUR, MO. — Election technology firm KNOWiNK has opened its new office headquarters in the St. Louis suburb of Creve Coeur. The office project was a renovation of the former American Heart Association building at 460 N. Lindbergh Blvd. KNOWiNK employs 154 people, with 60 employees based in St. Louis. The company’s national voting technology currently serves more than 1,700 election jurisdictions in 36 states and Washington, D.C., accounting for more than 50 percent of registered voters in the U.S. Designed by Remiger Design and built by ISC Contracting, the two-story headquarters features a collaborative open office space. The main level features private offices and huddle rooms, as well as space for sales and marketing, product development, quality control and client training. The lower level includes a game room, break room, town hall gathering space for company-wide meetings, a professional services and customer support office and a small warehouse. There is also an outdoor deck for company functions. The new office is triple the size of KNOWiNK’s existing office in St. Louis.
WICHITA, KAN. — FunCity Adventure Park has purchased a 52,259-square-foot building formerly home to a Sports Authority store in North Wichita for an undisclosed price. The property is located at 6959 E. 21st St. FunCity, an indoor adventure park operator, maintains 18 locations and several sites under construction across the country. FunCity is actively seeking to acquire or lease vacant retail buildings. By this summer, the company expects to have 25 locations open and operating. Don Mace of KeyPoint Partners advised FunCity on the acquisition in Wichita.
FORT WAYNE, IND. — Home décor retailer At Home is opening a new store at 4120 Illinois Road in Fort Wayne. A ribbon-cutting ceremony will take place Tuesday, April 4. Dallas-based At Home now operates 262 stores in 40 states. At Home sells a variety of merchandise such as furniture, mirrors, rugs and seasonal décor with collections from designers such as Laila Ali, Tracey Boyd, Willow Crossley, Grace Mitchell and Ty Pennington.
ROSEVILLE, MINN. — Dick’s Sporting Goods has signed a lease to open a new store at Rosedale Center, a 1.1 million-square-foot shopping center in Roseville, a suburb of the Twin Cities. The retailer will occupy a new building at the parcel formerly home to Herberger’s. Construction of the new store has begun, with completion slated for late 2024. JLL’s retail development partner, Poag Development Group, is overseeing construction management. Holly Rome of JLL leads the leasing efforts for Rosedale Center and secured the lease with Dick’s. Recent tenant additions at Rosedale Center include Aspen Dental, PNC Bank, Caribou Coffee, Raising Cane’s, Shake Shack and Panera Bread.
CHICAGO — CBRE has negotiated a new office headquarters lease on behalf of the Chicago Red Stars of the National Women’s Soccer League. The tenant will occupy 10,417 square feet at 820 W. Jackson in Chicago’s West Loop neighborhood. The team’s new office space features a front office, offices for leadership, conference areas and common areas. Bill Sheehy and Rachel Galindez of CBRE represented the Chicago Red Stars. The landlord was undisclosed.
LAFAYETTE, IND. — JLL Capital Markets has provided an $18.2 million Freddie Mac loan for the acquisition of Cambridge Estates, a 358-unit affordable housing community in Lafayette. About 41 percent of the units are covered by a long-term, project-based Section 8 Housing Assistance Payments contract. Constructed between 1973 and 1977, Cambridge Estates includes 40 buildings and is located at 3605 Brandywine Court. Brock Yaffe, Tony Nargi and Nelson Almond of JLL originated the fixed-rate loan on behalf of the borrower, Brikwell.
ZION, ILL. — O2C Brands, a Chicago-based designer and manufacturer of consumer products, has signed a 75,036-square-foot industrial lease in Zion, a city in Northeast Illinois. O2C’s products are sold in brick-and-mortar, e-commerce, healthcare, international and promotional channels under five different brands: O2COOL, Treva, LunchBots, Ecovessel and Ukonserve. O2C Brands retained Entre Commercial Realty in early 2022 for site selection services to support its growing business and distribution requirements. Dan Benassi and Sam Deihs of Entre represented the tenant in its lease at 451 Trumpet Road in Zion. The facility, constructed in 2009, features a clear height of 30 feet, eight exterior truck docks and an office buildout. Pat Hake, Ned Frank and Chris Volkert of Colliers represented the landlord, LINK Logistics.
PORTAGE, IND. — Quantum Real Estate Advisors Inc. has brokered the $4 million sale of a 26,500-square-foot retail center in Portage, a city in Northwest Indiana. Built in the mid-2000s, the property was 89 percent leased at the time of sale to tenants such as Rush Physical Therapy, Indiana Farm Bureau and Edible Arrangements. Chad Firsel of Quantum represented the seller, an Illinois-based developer. A Colorado-based private investor completing a 1031 exchange was the buyer.
By Jeff Budish, Northmarq Three years in, and the COVID-19 pandemic has immensely altered how multifamily and commercial properties are utilized, located and valued. Now with interest rate changes, all product types have seen a hit from the change in the cost of capital. While challenges are on the horizon, Midwest markets, including Minneapolis-St. Paul, should see less shake up than elsewhere. Despite rising interest rates, recession worries and nagging inflation, the Twin Cities multifamily sector is resilient. Vacancies remain low, demand is outpacing supply and rents are solid. Year over year, apartment rents in the Twin Cities area are up 5 percent. While COVID changed the dynamics of all product types, it explicitly impacted multifamily. The increase in remote work meant employees were not tethered to a physical office. Many people moved away from their workplaces in densely populated areas to the suburbs. However, Minneapolis and St. Paul proper generally saw net outbound demographic shifts. Valuations over the past two years therefore didn’t include additional inflated pricing based on speculation of continual inbound movement. There is also soaring demand for apartments due to an increase in the number of Americans living on their own, roommate-free. In an AvalonBay public …
By Matthew Mimnaugh, account management manager, Pavlov Media Account management, or the work to ensure repeat business and expand each client relationship, requires more than simply satisfying customers. For Internet service providers (ISPs) to the multifamily industry this means helping property managers succeed by maximizing their residents’ connectivity. Excellent Internet service leads to positive property reviews and renewed leases. Property ownership and management win. Providers that serve landlords best not only respond to service requests, but also employ a deductive approach to diagnose root problems, discover unreported deficiencies and take preemptive actions that allow smooth property operations. Below is an overview of best practices for account management and a discussion of Pavlov Media’s data analysis and behavioral pattern recognition tools we’ve developed to uncover trends and issues that can threaten connectivity and, ultimately, property performance. First Responders Giving housing managers and their residents access to a technology support team is a standard practice for many ISPs. Typically, a request generates a service ticket, and a team member responds to gather basic information before walking the customer through a scripted trouble-shooting tree to either solve the problem or elevate the ticket for more advanced assistance. This approach can be highly effective …