ELMHURST, ILL. — Newcastle Properties has acquired a 7,763-square-foot retail center in Elmhurst, a western suburb of Chicago. Built in 2016, the property is fully leased to Starbucks, Hand & Stone Massage, T-Mobile and Bentley’s Pet Stuff. The center is shadow-anchored by LA Fitness. Sean Devine of Newcastle sourced and managed the acquisition. Beth Sansiper and Jeff Gurian of Becker & Gurian represented Newcastle in the transaction. The seller and sales price were undisclosed.
MONROE, OHIO — The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR) has opened its first customer fulfillment center (CFC) in the country. The 375,000-square-foot facility is located in Monroe, a city north of Cincinnati. The CFC can fulfill thousands of orders per day and has the capability to support fulfillment of pickup orders. Powered by Ocado Group, a grocery e-commerce company, the CFC combines vertical integration, machine learning and robotics with affordable and fast delivery service for fresh food, according to Kroger. Onsite associates will support delivery operations and help process, package and load orders. The Monroe CFC will employ nearly 400 associates. After placing an order via Kroger’s website or app, customers in regions where there is a CFC will have their groceries delivered by a Kroger delivery associate in a temperature-controlled van. The Kroger delivery network will also continue to leverage stores and third-party partners to deliver certain orders. In May 2018, Kroger and Ocado formed an exclusive partnership for the rollout of CFCs across the country. The companies also plan to roll out components of the software solutions into Kroger stores in order to support fulfillment of curbside pickup orders. A CFC in Groveland, Fla. near Orlando is scheduled to …
ROCKDALE, ILL. — Industrial Realty Group LLC (IRG) has acquired a 1.5 million-square-foot industrial facility formerly occupied by Caterpillar in Rockdale near Joliet. The purchase price was undisclosed. The 69-acre property includes several buildings along the Des Plaines River. The largest building is 1.3 million square feet and includes 65,384 square feet of office space. Caterpillar used the site for its hydraulic manufacturing operations. IRG’s CEO John Mase says the company intends to convert the single-tenant manufacturing facility into a multi-tenant complex capable of accommodating warehouse, distribution and manufacturing users. IRG plans to immediately begin renovations and marketing the space for lease.
CHICAGO — Chicago-based Bridge Development Partners LLC has rebranded and changed its name to Bridge Industrial. The privately owned industrial real estate operating company and investment manager also launched a new website. The new name represents Bridge’s evolution over the past 20 years, according to the company. Bridge is also prioritizing the growth of its investment management business. The company hired Sean Zasche as CFO in September to lead all capital markets efforts.
CHICAGO — Chicago-based Blueprint Healthcare Real Estate Advisors has expanded its platform into medical office brokerage. Coinciding with the announcement is the addition of medical office veterans Eric Lee and Chris Lashmet to lead the practice. Known for its activity in the seniors housing and care space, Blueprint says the expansion is an effort to provide innovative advisory services to the healthcare sector while also best serving its core senior living clients. Blueprint’s medical office practice will include services such as investment sales; sale-leaseback structuring for physician groups; strategic real estate advisory for health systems and investors; joint venture structuring with developers; and capital raising for ground-up development.
CINCINNATI — NorthMarq has arranged a $7.5 million loan for the refinancing of River Bend Apartments in Cincinnati. The 120-unit apartment community is located at 163-181 Anderson Ferry Road. The property was built in 1971 and renovated from 2016 to 2020. Noah Juran of NorthMarq arranged the 15-year loan with one year of interest-only payments followed by a 30-year amortization schedule. A life insurance company provided the loan for the undisclosed borrower.
The past few years have seen a surge in interest in single-family rental (SFR) and build-for-rent (BFR) spaces in commercial real estate. Traditionally the domain of small- and medium-sized investors, the SFR/BFR space has begun to attract institutional investors. BFR, in particular, can often offer higher occupancy levels and rents while promising lower capital and operating costs than traditional multifamily housing. Keaton Merrell, managing director, Capital Markets, Walker & Dunlop, spoke to REBusinessOnline about debt and equity in BFR, as well what to know when it comes to agency involvement. First, Merrell briefly clarifies the terminology: “Oftentimes, people use SFR and BFR interchangeably. They are two totally separate asset classes and are looked at differently by capital. SFR is defined as a cluster of homes in various geographies that are pooled together for investment purposes. BFR is purpose-built housing within contiguous rental communities, much like traditional multifamily properties.” For a more in-depth look at the SFR and BFR in general, read more on the asset class here. REBusinessOnline: What is the current state of debt and equity capital in the market when it comes to BFR? Merrell: I will start with equity and then move on to debt. The equity that is coming into the …
CHICAGO — Summit Design + Build LLC has completed construction of a 148-room SpringHill Suites hotel in Chicago’s Chinatown neighborhood. Summit constructed the four-story, 80,000-square-foot property on top of an existing two-story parking garage and retail center. The project includes a first-floor lobby, reception, gym, breakfast room and meeting room. SpringHill Suites is under the Marriott International umbrella. The project team included T2 Mechanical and Vari Architects.
BELTON, MO. — NorthPoint Development has received approval from Belton City Council to move forward with its $30 million expansion of Southview Commerce Center in metro Kansas City. The development currently includes three industrial buildings that are fully leased. The expansion will enable access to the business park from 155th Street and include the construction of Building 4 on the long-vacant Century Concrete plant. The new 501,000-square-foot building will be identical in design to the other buildings. Belton City Council also approved a preliminary application for single-family lots near the project. Belton’s public-private partnership with NorthPoint also calls for the creation of a workforce development center, which will provide training to ensure a prepared workforce for the business park. NorthPoint has also agreed to fund the design and engineering as well as fund half of the construction costs to replace 1.2 miles of old cast iron water pipe along Allen Avenue.
RICHFIELD, MINN. — Dwight Capital has provided a $22.2 million HUD-insured loan for the refinancing of Gramercy Park Cooperative at Lake Shore Drive in Richfield, an inner-ring suburb of the Twin Cities. The 157-unit senior living community rises 12 stories on 1.7 acres. Amenities include a library, fitness room, hair salon, community room, grocery store, individual storage space and exterior gardens. Josh Sasouness of Dwight originated the 223(a)(7) loan on behalf of the undisclosed borrower.
