CHICAGO — SVN Chicago Commercial has brokered the $2.8 million sale of a fully leased apartment building located at 1555 N. Milwaukee Ave. in Chicago’s Bucktown neighborhood. The property features 17 apartment units and one street-level retail space. Wayne Caplan and José Colón of SVN Chicago Commercial represented the seller. The asset sold to a local apartment owner at a cap rate of 6.88 percent. The deal closed within 5 percent of the asking price in under three months.
Midwest
OVERLAND PARK, KAN. — Vietnam Cafe will open its second location at 9500 W. 135th St. in Overland Park. Bill Maas of Block & Co. Inc. Realtors represented the seller in the transaction. The Vietnamese restaurant’s first location is at 522 Campbell St. near the River Market in Kansas City. The menu features authentic pho, as well as dishes from chicken, beef, shrimp and vegetarian options. The new restaurant will occupy the 4,075-square-foot former Beef-A-Roo space. The property will undergo construction, with a proposed open date to be determined.
CHICAGO — Related Midwest, the Related Affordable Foundation and Related Affordable Management Co. have opened a newly renovated playground at Marshall Field Garden Apartment Homes in Chicago’s Old Town neighborhood. Related partnered with KABOOM!, a national nonprofit, to construct the playground at the 628-unit affordable housing community. Residents, volunteers, Related team members and community partners built the playground on July 23 and 24. The project’s completion comes nearly two months after Related and KABOOM! hosted a design day at the community, where children and adult residents shared visions for the playspace. There are more than 17,000 KABOOM! playspaces nationwide. Related led a $175 million renovation of Marshall Field Garden Apartment Homes following its acquisition of the property in 2016.
HUDSON, OHIO — Industrial Realty Group (IRG) has begun the redevelopment of the 1.4 million-square-foot former headquarters campus of fabrics retailer Joann in Hudson, located roughly midway between Cleveland and Akron. The 130-acre campus currently features industrial and office space, as well as undeveloped land. IRG plans to redevelop the campus to support uses such as corporate headquarters, distribution, research and development, manufacturing and retail, through both ground-lease and build-to-suit opportunities. In addition, the company will rebrand the campus as Hudson District and has tapped CBRE as the leasing agent. Joann filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2024 and earlier this year announced that it would begin closing all its retail stores.
COLUMBUS, OHIO — ACRES Capital has provided a $72 million loan for the refinancing of the GVX Portfolio, a collection of three multifamily properties in Columbus. The assets include 8 on the Park, Midpoint East and Midpoint West. The portfolio features 347 units and 51,138 square feet of retail space that are part of a larger development known as Grandview Crossing. Thrive Cos. was the borrower.
INDIANAPOLIS — The Community Builders (TCB) and the Mapleton Fall Creek Development Corp. (MFCDC) have broken ground on Central@29, a new $19.5 million affordable housing development to be built on the corner of 29th Street and Central Avenue in Indianapolis. The four-story community will feature 57 units in the city’s Mapleton Fall Creek neighborhood. Eleven homes will be reserved for individuals emerging from homelessness. Units will range from 675 to 1,200 square feet. Income restrictions for individuals and families range from $17,000 to $70,000 per year. Residents will have access to supportive services from partners such as Raphael Health Center. In 2023, MFCDC was awarded Low-Income Housing Tax Credits from the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority (IHCDA). Over a 10-year period, the MFCDC will receive $10 million in tax credits to support Central@29. Additional costs will be supported by the Department of Metropolitan Development HOME and Community Development Block Grants, the city’s Housing Trust Fund, the IHCDA Housing Trust Fund, the Indiana Development Fund and development loans sourced through The Urban League and the Indianapolis African American Quality of Life Initiative. Construction of Central@29 is slated for completion by winter 2026.
EAGAN, MINN. — Transwestern Real Estate Services has negotiated a 48,563-square-foot office lease in the Minneapolis suburb of Eagan. Leonardo DRS Inc., a defense technology company, will occupy space at Grand Oak VII within the Grand Oak Business Park. The lease term is 10 years. Leonardo DRS is relocating from Burnsville and is expanding its footprint this fall. Grand Oak VII is a 107,076-square-foot, single-story office building completed in 2002. Mike Honsa of Transwestern represented Group RMC, the owner of the 100-acre, 10-building business park. Chuck Bower and Jerry Moroe of RV3 Solutions represented the tenant.
DE PERE, WIS. — Marcus & Millichap has brokered the sale of Crow’s Nest Apartments, a 90-unit apartment property in De Pere near Green Bay. The sales price was undisclosed. Located along the Fox River and built in 1972, the asset features a mix of studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom units. Amenities include an indoor pool and sauna, resident lounge, updated laundry facilities and 96 underground parking spaces. Blake Hanlon and Mark Peltin of Marcus & Millichap represented the undisclosed seller and procured the buyer, the MLG Legacy Fund. The property was originally home to several Green Bay Packers players given its location across the river from Lambeau Field, according to Hanlon.
By Brooke Jacobsen, Colliers The Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky office market is weathering the post-pandemic era with surprising nuance. While national headlines continue to focus on uncertainty and high vacancy, the local market is quietly seeing stable, albeit selective, activity, especially in healthcare and specialized user segments. After a slow winter, leasing activity across the region began to thaw in the second quarter of 2025. Year-to-date net absorption remains slightly negative, but market sentiment is gradually shifting, particularly among small to mid-size tenants. Most of the deal activity is coming from users in the 2,500- to 5,000-square-foot range, with several groups focused on healthcare and logistics services. Cincinnati’s Class B and C office space is seeing an unexpected level of demand, driven by affordability, location flexibility and users with highly specific space needs. Medical office continues to stand out as one of the most active sectors. Demand is strong across both urban and suburban submarkets, with notable traction in Cincinnati submarkets. Much of the recent healthcare-related activity has come from specialty practices, private groups and regional health systems looking to reposition their outpatient services. While Northern Kentucky offers value, many users are choosing to locate on the Cincinnati side …
AcquisitionsContent PartnerDevelopmentFeaturesIndustrialLeasing ActivityLee & AssociatesLoansMidwestMultifamilyNortheastOfficeRetailSoutheastTexasWestern
Lee & Associates’ Report: Q2 Net Absorption Declines Across All Property Sectors Except Multifamily
Lee & Associates’ 2025 Q2 North America Market Report looks back at shrinking (or negative) net absorption for industrial, office and retail sectors in the last quarter. Meanwhile, multifamily tenant demand beat previous expectations in the same three months, as a feared recession failed to materialize. The mix of factors for absorption varied by property type: industrial and office markets saw increases in vacancy, while competition for retail space remained high, even in the face of high-profile closures. Lee & Associates’ full market report is available to read here (plus detailed vacancy rates, cap rates by city, market rents, square footage information, information on Canadian markets and more). The recaps for industrial, office, retail and multifamily sectors below detail trends and outlooks for each property sector in the remainder of 2025. Industrial Overview: Vacancies Rise, Rent Growth Slows Concern over the impact of tariffs has added to slowing tenant growth in logistics and manufacturing across North America. But the continued easing demand has resulted in more choices and benefits for users that have been subjected to a prolonged stretch of steep rent growth. Vacancies in the United States have risen to 7.4 percent, a decade-long high, while deliveries continued to outpace tenant expansion. Net absorption fell …