NAPERVILLE, ILL. — Cawley Chicago has negotiated the sale of a 7,800-square-foot office building in Naperville for $1.7 million. The standalone property is located at 651 Amersale Drive. Ryan Freed of Cawley represented the seller, American Sale. Leibel Moscowitz of Vandon Forbes represented the buyer, Chabad of Naperville.
There is a widely held belief that investing in the Chicago office real estate market in 2020 is potentially a bad bet. While some investors are concerned by headlines decrying the fiscal health of Illinois, the supposed overvaluing of Cook County tax assessments and softening of the Chicago market, our experience tells us those fears will create opportunities for contrarian investors willing to dig deeper. Because these misperceptions are scaring away some institutional investors, the time is ripe for continued investment in Chicago office properties to take advantage of opportunities that more cautious investors are passing up. Municipal realities At the state level, much has been written about Illinois’ fiscal health. In a report released in September 2019, government watchdog Truth in Accounting labeled Illinois a “Sinkhole State” and ranked it 49th in the nation for its financial condition. After failing to raise enough revenue by hiking taxes to fund the state’s debt, leaders from Illinois have said that massive pension reform — not tax hikes — is the way out of our current debt crisis. Consequently, office real estate investors should not be overly concerned that the state of Illinois will potentially shift the state’s tax burden onto their …
CHICAGO — The Habitat Co. has secured financing and begun development of the first phase of Ogden Commons, a $200 million mixed-use project in Chicago’s North Lawndale neighborhood. The project is being developed in a public-private partnership between Habitat, Sinai Health System, Cinespace Chicago Film Studios, the Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) and the city of Chicago. Upon completion, the 10-acre development will be home to 120,000 square feet of commercial and retail space as well as 350 mixed-income housing units. Located in a federally designated qualified Opportunity Zone, the site is bordered by Ogden Avenue, Fairfield Avenue and Rockwell Street. Ogden Commons will be located on land that once housed the CHA’s former Ogden Courts and Lawndale public housing developments. Through a combination of debt and Opportunity Zone equipment, PNC Bank funded $15 million of the $22 million development cost for Phase I, which includes 50,000 square feet of retail space housed in a three-story building. Signed tenants include Steak n’ Shake, Ja’ Grill and Wintrust Bank. The rest of the building will be leased to Sinai and Cinespace. Construction of the residential component is expected to begin in 2021. Current plans for the first residential phase call for a …
LINCOLN, NEB. — NorthMarq has provided a $19.3 million Fannie Mae loan for the refinancing of Wilderness Hills Flats in Lincoln. The 168-unit apartment community is located at 3055 Crescent Drive within the Wilderness Hills commercial development. Amenities include a bike repair station, dog park, outdoor grill area and package service. Bob Chalupa of NorthMarq arranged the 15-year loan on behalf of the undisclosed borrower.
MINNEAPOLIS — JLL Capital Markets has arranged a $12.3 million loan for the refinancing of Moxy Minneapolis Uptown, a 125-room boutique hotel in the Uptown submarket of Minneapolis. Completed in 2018, the hotel features a fitness center, business center, lobby lounge and bar, hot breakfast and valet parking. Gerard Sansosti, Jeff Bucaro and Nicole Aguiar of JLL arranged the five-year, fixed-rate loan on behalf of the borrower, Graves Hospitality. A newly formed debt fund provided the loan, proceeds of which were used to refinance the original construction loan. Moxy hotels are under the Marriott umbrella of properties.
WESTERVILLE, OHIO — Arch Street Capital Advisors and VEREIT (NYSE: VER) have acquired DHL Supply Chain’s North American headquarters in Westerville, a northeastern suburb of Columbus. The purchase price was undisclosed. The newly completed, build-to-suit office building spans 145,000 square feet and is located within Westar Place Business Park. The acquisition is part of Arch Street and VEREIT’s partnership focused on the acquisition of long-term leased, single-tenant office assets.
ELKHART, IND. — SVN Chicago Commercial has brokered the sale of Concord Shopping Center in Elkhart for $8 million. The 601,205-square-foot property is located at 3701 S. Main St. and is 54 percent occupied. Some of the tenants include Chase, Claire’s, GNC, Hobby Lobby, JC Penney, Jo-Ann Fabrics and Spencer’s Gifts. Tim Franz and Matt McParland of SVN represented the undisclosed seller.
SOUTHFIELD, MICH. — Automotive supplier Marelli has signed a multi-year lease to relocate its North American headquarters to Southfield. The company will occupy nearly 200,000 square feet of the property located at 26555 Northwestern Highway. The mid-century building, which has been vacant since 2015 after Federal-Mogul relocated, is situated at the corner of Lahser Road and the John C. Lodge Freeway. The three-story building, which is undergoing extensive renovations, will feature modern workspaces for nearly 500 employees. It will include 75 conference rooms, an auditorium, cafeteria, fitness room and meeting space. Approximately 100,000 square feet will be dedicated to testing and lab equipment to support R&D activities for the company’s automotive lighting, electronics, exhaust, interiors, powertrain, ride dynamics and thermal solutions business units. Marelli is leasing the property from Dembs Development, which purchased the building in 2017 from a New York-based investment company. Marelli is planning a staggered move-in to begin in late 2020 with full occupancy expected by March 2021. The company currently has two locations in Auburn Hills and one in Farmington Hills. In May 2019, Magneti Marelli and Calsonic Kansei merged to create Marelli, one of the world’s largest independent automotive suppliers.
DETROIT — Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan and his Housing & Revitalization Department (HRD) have created a new partnership to preserve affordable housing in the city while also improving its quality and preventing displacement. The partnership comprises the city’s housing department along with a number of housing experts, including Enterprise Community Partners, United Community Housing Coalition, a partnership between Cinnaire and CHN Housing Partners, Data Driven Detroit, Elevate Energy and Community Investment Corp. Enterprise Community Partners will lead the team and create action plans for preserving units. A primary goal of the new partnership is to identify apartment buildings that have low rents — not because they are required to, but because of their condition — and help redevelop those buildings in a way that preserves their affordability. HRD has established a goal of preserving 10,000 existing regulated affordable housing units in the city by 2023. This is in addition to the creation of new affordable housing in any new development that receives city funding or discounted land.
CHICAGO — Berkadia has arranged a $76 million loan for the refinancing of 1407 On Michigan, an apartment building in Chicago. Located at 1407 S. Michigan Ave., the property features amenities such as a gym, indoor basketball court, sauna, yoga studio and outdoor pool deck. The Class A building includes 199 luxury apartment units and 41,498 square feet of retail space that is currently occupied by Rush University Medical Center. Chris Blechschmidt and Joel Kirstein of Berkadia secured the refinancing on behalf of the borrower, Illinois-based Russland Capital. Ares Management provided the loan.