MERRILLVILLE, IND. — Marcus & Millichap has negotiated the $2.9 million sale of a 32-unit multifamily portfolio in Merrillville, a city in Northwest Indiana. The portfolio is spread across eight buildings, which were constructed in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Units average 1,031 square feet. The portfolio was fully leased at the time of sale. Of the 32 units, 12 are Section 8 and 20 are market-rate. Aaron Kuroiwa, Jack Friskney and Austin Meeker of Marcus & Millichap represented the buyer and seller, both of which were limited liability companies.
When it comes to commercial real estate development, thoughtfully curated teams are critical to success. “It’s important that the extended team works well with each other, so they can deliver results for clients,” explains Mark Fletcher, director of Strategic Partnering at Bohler, a land development design and consulting firm. Developers don’t want to work with a variety of disjointed processes and personalities. They want to work with one team, a multi-discipline team that effectively manages time and resources, focusing on streamlined processes and speed to market. This sort of team unity promotes both cohesiveness and consistency in outcomes. Building a great design and consulting team means having the property developer’s end goals in mind from the very start of the process: dependability, speed to market and turnkey solutions. The importance of fostering cohesion extends to finding an architect to optimize the building and a contractor to strategize materials and phasing. It may be necessary to engage an attorney who can work well with the team to address land use and zoning. Finally, the right site design and consulting firm can streamline communications, maintain timelines and entitlements and keep the project moving forward. Here’s how Bohler’s approach to assembling a team …
The industrial market will be forever changed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Before the pandemic, demand for industrial space was closely tied with gross domestic product (GDP), with demand rising and falling alongside the U.S. output of goods. The pandemic has accelerated an already shifting economy to an “on-demand” economy. This shift was created by technology companies fulfilling consumer demand via the immediate provisioning of goods and services, and has now led to industrial warehouse demand being more in line with consumer spending versus GDP. Consumer spending and personal income are at all-time highs, with e-commerce sales growing exponentially throughout 2020 and 2021. Companies have been leasing warehouse space at a meteoric rate, driven by the need to store goods to accommodate the demand and mitigate risk from supply chain complications that have been brought on by the pandemic. Over the past two years, millions of square feet of warehouse space in the Chicagoland area have been leased for e-commerce use to tenants such as Walmart, Wayfair, Hello Fresh, Imperfect Foods and, of course, Amazon. Additionally, as traditional brick-and-mortar retailers transition to greater online sales, they require more warehouse space for goods storage, which has led tenants such as Target, Walmart, …
CHICAGO — Sunstone Hotel Investors Inc. (NYSE: SHO), a California-based lodging REIT, has sold two hotels in Chicago for a combined gross sales price of $129.5 million. The properties include the 368-room Embassy Suites Chicago and the 361-room Hilton Garden Inn Chicago Downtown/Magnificent Mile. Buyer information was not provided. The sale marks Sunstone’s exit from the Chicago market, which has been hindered by excess supply and an inability to drive meaningful rate and profitability growth, says CEO Bryan Giglia. For the month of February, Chicago’s hotel occupancy rate of 43.8 percent was the second-lowest rate across the nation, according to hospitality data firm STR. The average occupancy rate nationally for the month was 56.9 percent. Sunstone’s stock price opened at $11.69 per share Tuesday, March 22, down slightly from $12.82 per share one year ago.
ELK GROVE VILLAGE, ILL. — Greystone has provided a $57.1 million loan for the acquisition of Terrace of Elk Grove Apartments in Elk Grove Village. The buyer, Bayshore Properties, is converting the 427-unit property from condos into apartments. The complex, originally built as a rental apartment property in 1968, consists of eight three-story buildings. Amenities include a pool, clubhouse, fitness center, game room, business center, laundry facilities, courtyards and onsite management. Eric Rosenstock and Dan Sacks of Greystone originated the nonrecourse bridge loan, which features a 24-month term. Under the Condominium Property Act in Illinois, condo unit owners can elect to sell a property if 75 percent or more are in agreement. Sellers then have the option to either move out of their units or lease them back from the new owner.
FISHERS AND CARMEL, IND. — Stan Johnson Co. has brokered the sale of two retail properties occupied by Fresh Thyme Market in suburban Indianapolis for $18.7 million. The freestanding buildings span roughly 28,600 square feet each and are located in Fishers and Carmel. A Chicago-based private equity fund sold the portfolio to a private equity fund with headquarters in Mexico City. Mark Lovering of Stan Johnson represented both parties in the transaction.
EDWARDSVILLE, KAN. — Newmark Zimmer has arranged the sale of a 275,000-square-foot industrial property in Edwardsville, a western suburb of Kansas City. The sales price was undisclosed. The cross-dock truck terminal facility, which is fully leased to one tenant, features 335 truck doors and sits on a 126-acre site at 9140 Woodend Road. Originally constructed in 1999, the facility was expanded in 2013 and 2019. Jerry Hopkins, Ken Hedrick, Mark Long, John Hassler and Alex Foshay of Newmark Zimmer brokered the transaction. Buyer and seller information was not provided.
CHICAGO — Commercial real estate firm Cresa has signed a 21,000-square-foot office lease to relocate its headquarters to Chicago from Washington, D.C. The firm will occupy space at 167 Green St. in Chicago’s Fulton Market district. Cresa says the decision to relocate follows the announcement of several high-level, Chicago-based leadership hires. The new office will house Cresa’s tenant advisory practice, project management and lease administration teams. The office will feature a mix of collaborative and private work areas. Cresa, which exclusively represents occupiers, maintains more than 80 offices and 1,000 employees.
COLUMBUS, OHIO — Woda Cooper Cos. Inc. has broken ground on Lockbourne Greene, a 60-unit affordable housing community in Columbus. Completion is slated for mid-2023. Woda Cooper is building the $15.8 million project with co-developer Healthy Homes, which is affiliated with Community Development for All People (CD4AP) and Nationwide Children’s Hospital. The project is the transformation of a vacant and blighted Columbus Land Bank property. The three-story building will feature 12 one-bedroom units, 40 two-bedroom units and eight three-bedroom units. All of the units will be designated for residents who earn 40 to 80 percent of the area median income. Monthly rents are expected to range from $669 to $999, depending on the income category and size of the apartment. Lockbourne Greene will feature an onsite management office, fitness center and community room. SproutFive will operate an early learning center at the property for children ages 6 months to 5 years old. Residents will also have access to supportive services coordinated by CD4AP. A new $15 million Affordable Housing Linked Deposit Pilot Program from Franklin County supports funding for Lockbourne Greene at no out-of-pocket cost to taxpayers. The program places funds into an interest-yielding investment at three private banks — …
ELK GROVE VILLAGE, ILL. — A joint venture between Clear Height Properties and Blackbird Investment Group has sold a 56,500-square-foot industrial building located at 1400 Greenleaf Ave. in the Chicago suburb of Elk Grove Village. The sales price was undisclosed. The partnership acquired the property in January 2021 and invested $720,000 in renovations. Originally constructed in 1973, the building features a clear height of 18 feet, three loading docks and 9,500 square feet of office space. Justin Lerner of Transwestern represented both the sellers as well as the buyer, Ideal Property Investments. Avatar Financial Group provided a $1.5 million bridge loan for the acquisition.