ADDISON, ILL. — Brennan Investment Group has acquired a 97,568-square-foot industrial building in the Chicago suburb of Addison. Located near the I-355 expressway in the Northern DuPage submarket, the property features convenient access to the O’Hare International Airport as well as the Chicago central business district. The transaction marks the fifth acquisition within Brennan’s inaugural Opportunity Fund, which primarily focuses on the user-owned market.
CINCINNATI AND CHICAGO — First Financial Bancorp. (Nasdaq: FFBC) has agreed to acquire BankFinancial Corp. (Nasdaq: BFIN) in an all-stock transaction valued at approximately $142 million. Upon completion of the transaction, BankFinancial’s consumer, trust/wealth management and selected commercial credit lines of business will be incorporated into First Financial’s respective business lines, and all BankFinancial bank employees will become First Financial associates. The merger agreement has been unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both companies. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter, subject to customary closing conditions, regulatory approvals and approval of BankFinancial shareholders. As of June 30, Cincinnati-based First Financial Bancorp. had $18.6 billion in assets, $11.8 billion in loans, $14.4 billion in deposits and $2.6 billion in shareholders’ equity. The company’s subsidiary, First Financial Bank, founded in 1863, provides banking and financial services to businesses and consumers. The company operated 128 full-service banking centers in Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky and Illinois as of June 30. Chicago-based BankFinancial is a commercial lender with 18 full-service banking offices located in Cook, DuPage, Lake and Will counties within Illinois. BankFinancial NA operates as a subsidiary of BankFinancial Corp.
DETROIT — The new home of Detroit City Football Club (DCFC), set to open in southwest Detroit for the 2027 USL Championship season, will be known as AlumniFi Field. AlumniFi will also serve as the club’s exclusive financial partner. Sports Revenue Advisors and M3 Group brokered the multi-year agreement. Pending public approvals, construction on the field is scheduled to begin in late 2025. The soccer-specific stadium will be Detroit’s only privately owned and financed professional sports stadium and will seat 15,000. HOK designed the project. AlumniFi is a digital financial platform created by MSU Federal Credit Union.
DAYTON, MINN. — Daedex, a national custom data center cooling equipment manufacturer and subsidiary of MAS HVAC, has signed a long-term lease for the remaining 503,440 square feet at The Cubes at French Lake, a 1 million-square-foot development in Dayton. Located at 11500 Lawndale Ave., The Cubes at French Lake is the largest speculative industrial project ever developed in Minnesota, according to owner CRG. The project is now fully leased. Daedex joins States Manufacturing Corp., which previously leased the other half of the building. Completed in 2024, the property features a clear height of 40 feet, 169 dock doors, four drive-in doors, 60-foot speed bays and ample parking. The two leases at The Cubes at French Lake are the largest signed in metro Twin Cities in the past three years, according to CBRE. Dan Swartz, James DePietro and Austin Lovin of CBRE represented CRG in the lease, while Brent Masica and Danny McNamara of Cushman & Wakefield represented the tenant. CRG integrated partner Lamar Johnson Collaborative designed The Cubes at French Lake, while parent company Clayco served as general contractor.
MARYLAND HEIGHTS, MO. — Contegra Construction has completed the first of three planned distribution centers at the $117 million River Valley Logistics Center in Maryland Heights, a northwest suburb of St. Louis. NorthPoint Development is the developer. The first building totals 357,056 square feet. Two more distribution centers totaling nearly 800,000 square feet are also planned for the 94-acre development. The first building can accommodate a single user or multiple tenants and features a clear height of 36 feet, high bay windows, 40 dock doors, LED lighting and parking for 259 cars and 98 trailers. Sansone Group is handling leasing.
MERRILL, WIS. — Marcus & Millichap has brokered the $9.5 million sale of Pine Crest Nursing Home facility in Merrill, a city in central Wisconsin. The 120-bed property is located at 2100 E. 6th St. Operated by North Central Health Care, the facility features 117 units, including 105 private rooms and 15 semi-private rooms. The asset has served the area for nearly 70 years with several phases of construction, including the recent addition of a memory care unit, rehabilitation center and special care units. Ray Giannini of Marcus & Millichap represented the seller and procured the buyer. The property is the only skilled nursing facility in Merrill and was 70 percent occupied at the time of sale, according to Giannini.
LOUISVILLE, KY. AND MARSHALL, MICH. — Automotive giant Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) will invest $2 billion at its Louisville Assembly Plant and $3 billion at its BlueOval Battery Park Michigan factory. Combined, the investment will create and secure approximately 4,000 jobs across both plants, as well as spur dozens of new U.S.-based suppliers, according to Ford. Ford’s investments will help the automaker deliver a suite of electric vehicles (EVs), beginning with a midsize, four-door electric pickup truck that will be assembled at its Louisville plant. Ford plans to launch domestic and international sales of the new trucks, which are expected to be priced starting at $30,000, in 2027. Jim Farley, president and CEO of Ford, says that the automaker will be the first in the country to make prismatic lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries, which are cobalt- and nickel-free and serve as the floor of the new EVs. Ford plans to begin manufacturing the new prismatic LFP batteries for the new electric truck at BlueOVal Battery Park Michigan next year. Located in Marshall, Mich., the factory is under construction, with the shell built out and mechanical, electrical and piping infrastructure underway. Ford says that the lithium LFP battery cell …
WEST LAFAYETTE, IND. — Purdue Research Foundation (PRF) and American Campus Communities (ACC) have opened 3rd & West, a 984-bed student housing development at Purdue University in West Lafayette. Located at the intersection of Third Street and McCormick Road, the complex rises five stories and totals 325,000 square feet. Units come in studio, one-bedroom, two-bedroom and four-bedroom configurations. Amenities include an entry plaza for community gatherings, dual courtyards, study lounges, private study rooms and a fitness center. The first students will move into the new housing at the start of the fall 2025 semester. A public-private partnership between PRF and ACC developed the project. SCB served as architect.
Midas Hospitality, Double Eagle Development Deliver 227-Unit Luxury Apartment Complex Near St. Louis
ELLISVILLE, MO. — Midas Hospitality and Double Eagle Development have completed MILA Apartments, a 227-unit luxury apartment complex in the St. Louis suburb of Ellisville. The four-story project is situated on a 7-acre site at 15970 Manchester Road. MILA Apartments features eight floor plans for studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments ranging in size from 552 to 1,363 square feet. Amenities include a courtyard, grills, a pool, turf lawns, bocce ball, mini golf, a fitness center, dog park and conference rooms. The property manager is 2B Residential. The project team included Rosemann & Associates as architect and MBG as general contractor. A Starbucks location fronts the property.
MINNEAPOLIS — Tenants have signed leases totaling nearly 60,000 square feet at LaSalle Plaza, an office tower in downtown Minneapolis. Owner Hempel Real Estate has completed $10 million of improvements and upgrades in the last 18 months. The largest new lease is with Greiner Construction, which will move from Deluxe Plaza into 20,000 square feet on the second floor of LaSalle Plaza. In addition, Interstate Parking is moving into 6,300 square feet from Canadian Pacific. Relx, a data and information consulting company, leased 5,100 square feet; and Gems, a Target vendor, is moving into a 1,700-square-foot spec suite. Additionally, four existing tenants renewed their leases. These include Centerspace (7,000 square feet), Hershey (10,000 square feet), Henkel (6,000 square feet) and PACE Loan Group. PACE moved into LaSalle Plaza in 2024 and expanded its lease by nearly 3,000 square feet, now occupying 6,500 square feet. Totaling 650,000 square feet, LaSalle Plaza offers an amenity package called The LaSalle Club, which includes an exclusive tenant lounge on the fourth floor and a fitness center with a sauna, cold plunge, fitness studio and pickleball court. The property also features a Grey Fox coffee shop; two fast-casual restaurants, Green and the Grain and Bep; …