COLUMBUS, OHIO — The NRP Group has broken ground on Sinclair Apartments, a 180-unit affordable housing community in Columbus. In partnership with the City of Columbus Housing Division, the transit-oriented development will be developed with tax-credit funding support from the Ohio Housing Finance Agency and Huntington National Bank. Located at 5055 Sinclair Ave., the property will be reserved for Columbus-area residents who earn between 30 and 70 percent of the area median income. The three-building complex will replace Alrosa Villa, a live music venue that closed in 2020. Completion of the project is slated for 2023.
Midwest
NAPERVILLE, ILL. — Colliers has arranged the sale of Jefferson Business Center in Naperville for an undisclosed price. The 169,250-square-foot distribution center is located at 1748 Jefferson Ave. Completed in 2019, the Class A facility features a clear height of 32 feet, 21 loading docks, 203 car parking stalls and 23 trailer stalls. The building was fully leased to four tenants at the time of sale. Jeff Devine and Steve Disse of Colliers Chicago represented the seller, TA Realty. Black Creek Group was the buyer.
CHICAGO — Skender has started the interior buildout of a two-story, 50,000-square-foot lab and office space for Hazel Technologies at 320 N. Sangamon, a new 13-story building being developed by Tishman Speyer and Mark Goodman & Associates in Chicago’s Fulton Market. Hazel, a USDA-funded technology company developing solutions to extend the shelf life of fresh produce, will move from its current location at Illinois Tech’s University Technology Park in the Bronzeville neighborhood. Hazel plans to double its local workforce to 70 employees in the coming year. The buildout includes space for both research and lab support, as well as 10,000 square feet of administrative and office space and 5,000 square feet of collaboration space. CBRE is the tenant representative, Perkins & Will is the architect and Cosentini Associates is the engineer. Completion is slated for spring 2022.
Historically, Lincoln, Nebraska, has been a resilient Midwestern city. Home to state and county governments and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, it has weathered past economic ups and downs and provided steady growth close to 2 percent each year. As COVID-19 restrictions ease, people are gradually returning to shop and find entertainment downtown, and new construction continues to rise above Lincoln’s skyline. Interestingly, the last time this many cranes were visible downtown was during the last economic downturn. It has been remarked that during that time, Lincoln “built its way out of the recession.” Now, many building projects are helping to maintain the resiliency of our economy during these challenging times. Prominent projects, proposed or initiated prior to the pandemic, continue to move forward. Examples include a proposed 15-story, 300,000-square-foot mixed-use building by Chicago-based Argent Group housing 200 residential units. Omaha-based White Lotus Development plans a $54 million redevelopment of the Pershing Auditorium block, a vacant city-owned venue. White Lotus would bring 100 affordable housing units with a wellness center, childcare center, retail, community green space and potentially a new city library. Other notable projects include a $21 million renovation of a 100-year-old, seven-story Atrium Building by new local owners. Pushing …
BARTLETT, ILL. — Conor Commercial Real Estate has completed the development of Brewster Creek Commerce Center, a 436,500-square-foot speculative industrial building in the Chicago suburb of Bartlett. The developer has leased the entire building to Chicago-based Colony Display, which will use the facility for light manufacturing and warehousing space. The project is situated within a 670-acre business park that is home to tenants such as McKesson, Grego & Sons and Cheese Merchants of America. The building features a clear height of 36 feet, 54 truck docks, four drive-in doors, 125 trailer stalls and 340 automobile spaces. Brad Simousek, Ryan Kehoe and Mike Plumb of Lee & Associates represented Conor in the lease transaction. Luke Molloy, Jack Brennan and Mike Sedjo of CBRE represented Colony Display. The project team included McShane Construction Co., V3 Cos. and Harris Architects Inc.
ST. LOUIS — Sensient Technologies Corp. has signed a 300,481-square-foot industrial lease at 255 Logistics Center in St. Louis. The company manufactures colors, flavors and fragrances. Sensient is leasing space currently occupied by Medline Industries, which is terminating its lease early and moving to a self-developed facility elsewhere in the market. The buildout for Sensient will include reconfiguring office space, the addition of locker rooms, dock upgrades and the installation of additional electric service and new lighting fixtures. SparrowHawk LLC owns the building, which was constructed in 2008. Patrick Reilly and Dave Branding of JLL represented SparrowHawk in the lease transaction. Matt Eastin of Cushman & Wakefield represented Sensient.
TOPEKA, KAN. — Stan Johnson Co. has brokered the sale of a FedEx-occupied distribution center spanning 26,892 square feet in Topeka for $16.4 million. The property is located at 5116 SW Wenger St. Built in 2015, the facility features 36 docks and ample trailer parking. Erik Lundberg of Stan Johnson represented the seller, a New Jersey-based investor group that acquired the property less than a year ago. A Wisconsin-based investor completing a 1031 tax-deferred exchange was the buyer. The sales price represents a cap rate of 5 percent.
CHICAGO — Kawa Capital Solutions has closed a $15 million preferred equity investment for a Class A multifamily project to be developed in Chicago’s River North. Located at 808 N. Cleveland Ave., the development will include 200 apartment units, 20,000 square feet of office space, 7,500 square feet of retail space and a 101-space parking garage. Chicago-based developers Bayview USA and DAC Developments will co-develop and manage the property. Project costs are estimated at $104.6 million. A timeline for completion was not provided.
OMAHA, NEB. — Omaha-based commercial real estate brokerage firm Oak Investment Real Estate LLC has opened. Services offered by the firm include investment sales, landlord and tenant representation, sale-leasebacks and asset management across the industrial, office, retail and multifamily sectors. Brokers John Heine, Spencer Goldenberg and Dani Berke, along with marketing director Colten Adams and asset manager Carol Samway founded the company, which maintains an office at 3219 Leavenworth St.
ST. LOUIS — Cushman & Wakefield has brokered the sale of two industrial buildings totaling 1.1 million square feet in St. Louis for $75.1 million. The buildings are part of Gateway Commerce Center and are situated within the city’s Metro East submarket. The facilities, Gateway East 520 and Gateway East 624, were both developed in 2016. James Carpenter, Mike Hanrahan, Ed Lampitt and Elizabeth Given of Cushman & Wakefield represented the seller, Dallas-based L&B Realty Advisors. Plymouth REIT was the buyer.