MERRILLVILLE, IND. — Marcus & Millichap has brokered the $4 million sale of Crossroads Plaza, a 184,721-square-foot shopping center in Merrillville, a northern suburb of Chicago. Located at 6110 Broadway, the property is anchored by Ruler Foods, Trader Buck’s and Treasure Hunt Deals. Ruler Foods, a subsidiary of Kroger, is the only grocer within a three-mile radius. Additional tenants include Family Dollar, Subway, Papa John’s and Rent-A-Center. Eric Abbott, Andrew Margulies, Adam Sklaver and Philip Kates of Marcus & Millichap represented the seller in partnership with AM Group and utilized Marcus & Millichap’s auction platform to execute the sale.
LAKE ELMO, MINN. — Bibliotheca, a library technology service company, has signed a long-term lease for 32,000 square feet at I-94 Logistics Center, a new development at 11190 Hudson Blvd. in Lake Elmo near St. Paul. Bibliotheca is the first tenant to move into the 150,000-square-foot property. The lease enables the company to consolidate its shipping and operations into one location. Bibliotheca’s space comprises 10,000 square feet of office space and 22,000 square feet of industrial space. Kevin Salmen and Danny Callahan of Transwestern Real Estate Services represented the tenant. Colliers represented the landlord, Launch Properties.
EVANSTON, ILL. — Cyclopure Inc. has leased 17,527 square feet of lab-ready space on the third floor of Evanston Labs in Evanston. Trammell Crow Co. (TCC) owns the property. Cyclopure will operate its headquarters and water treatment business out of the building as it expands DEXSORB commercial operations to deliver PFAS-free water to customers worldwide. Cyclopure is a materials science and environmental engineering firm founded in Chicago in 2016. Located at 710 Clark St., Evanston Labs rises 10 stories and totals 178,000 square feet. Now that all lab-ready graduation suites have been leased, TCC plans to develop more at Evanston Labs. With Cyclopure’s new lease, the development is approximately 40 percent leased. Jonathan Metzl and Jack Deroche of Cushman & Wakefield represented Cyclopure, while Dan Lyne and Brandon Green of CBRE represented TCC.
CHICAGO — Habitat has received a $72.9 million Freddie Mac loan plus $29.5 million in equity from New York-based Torchlight Investors for the refinancing of Columbus Plaza in downtown Chicago. Torchlight Investors joins Habitat as an equity partner in the apartment property, which rises 47 stories with 534 units. Northmarq arranged the Freddie Mac loan. The refinancing replaces a $93 million loan from 2017 that matured in November. The new loan and capital structure enable Habitat and its partners to plan renovations and other capital improvements. Completed in 1980, Columbus Plaza comprises studio, one- and two-bedroom units. Monthly rents average from $1,700 to $3,350. The building was 95 percent leased at the time of loan closing. Onsite amenities include a fitness center, sunroom, business lounge, patio and bicycle storage. Located on East Wacker Drive, the asset features views of Lake Michigan and the surrounding downtown cityscape. Habitat was the original developer of the building and continues to serve as property manager.
TOLEDO, OHIO — Continental Real Estate Cos. and Hallmark Communities have completed development of Colony Lofts, a 262-unit luxury apartment community in Toledo. Coastal Ridge is the property manager. Amenities include a resort-style pool, grilling stations, fitness center, business center, clubhouse and coffee bar. The property also features retail spaces, electric vehicle charging stations and an onsite restaurant, the newest outpost of Central Ohio staple The Old Bag of Nails Pub. Colony Lofts is located near ProMedica Toledo Hospital and the University of Toledo. Monthly rents for studios start at $964, according to the property’s website. Residents can earn one month of free rent by moving in prior to April 15.
BELOIT, WIS. — Zilber Property Group has acquired a 363,000-square-foot industrial building in southern Wisconsin’s Beloit for an undisclosed price. Located at 1405 Gateway Blvd. in the Gateway Business Park, the property is home to Pratt Industries’ Beloit Corrugating operations. Pratt manufactures recycled containerboard, corrugated sheets and related packaging containers, and maintains facilities throughout the U.S. The Beloit facility, which was constructed in 2016, is situated at the intersection of I-90 and I-43 near the Wisconsin-Illinois state line. It supplies Pratt’s customers throughout the Great Lakes and Upper Midwest regions. Peter Loehrer, Mark Kolsrud, Tom Shepherd and Jennifer Huber-Bullock of Colliers represented the undisclosed seller. Zilber currently owns and manages 15 industrial properties totaling roughly 3.8 million square feet in Wisconsin’s Rock County.
SKOKIE, ILL. — Skender has completed construction on the interior build-out of the 19,366-square-foot Materials Discovery Research Institute (MDRI) lab for UL Research Institutes (ULRI), a global safety science leader. The lab is located within the Illinois Science + Technology Park at 8045 Lamon Ave. in Skokie. Designed as an incubator for scientific innovation where students and early-career researchers can work alongside seasoned experts, the MDRI lab harnesses advanced computing and experimental methods to create innovative materials for renewable energy and environmental sustainability. The build-out included joining multiple lab sections within a secure envelope, retrofitting existing labs and adding specialized laboratories. The space features a gas adsorption lab with significant lab gas infrastructure, an automation lab and a battery characterization lab. The project team included architect Harley Ellis Devereaux, Affiliated Engineers Inc. and Project Management Advisors Inc. Construction lasted 30 weeks. Skender is now underway on the project’s next phase, the design-build of a scanning electronic microscope capable of viewing down to 1 nanometer.
FOWLER AND RENSSELAER, IND. — BWE has arranged a $10.8 million USDA RHS 538 GRRHP loan to provide permanent financing for the renovation of two affordable housing properties totaling 132 units in Indiana. Madison Cottages of Benton County, located in Fowler, totals 61 units across eight buildings. Madison Cottage of Rensselaer features 71 units across 12 buildings. All of the units are reserved for tenants earning up to 60 percent of the area median income. Lundat Kassa and Bob Morton of BWE structured the loan with a 40-year term and amortization. The project received additional financing through the use of 4 percent Low-Income Housing Tax Credits provided by the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority.
WICHITA, KAN. — General contractor partners JE Dunn and Hutton have broken ground on the Wichita Biomedical Campus (WBC), a $172.5 million project rising eight stories and totaling 350,000 square feet in Wichita. The development marks a partnership among Wichita State University (WSU), The University of Kansas (KU) and WSU Tech. The consortium of schools enlisted the design team of Kansas City-based Helix Architecture + Design and Los Angeles-based CO Architects for the interdisciplinary healthcare education destination that will combine several programs into one location. WSU’s College of Health Professions and Speech-Language-Hearing Clinic, WSU Tech’s nursing and surgical tech programs and the Wichita campuses of KU School of Medicine and KU School of Pharmacy will collocate at the new campus. Completion of the WBC is slated for 2026. A street-facing, three-story pavilion will house three 80-seat classrooms and will easily convert into an events venue. A portion of the pavilion’s roof will be an outdoor terrace. Inside, shared learning spaces will include advanced laboratories and simulation rooms for hands-on training. The building is designed to accommodate approximately 3,000 students and 200 faculty and staff. The project team also includes mechanical, electrical and plumbing engineer Henderson Engineers, structural engineer KPFF, civil …
ST. LOUIS PARK, MINN. — Thorofare Capital, an affiliate of asset management platform Callodine Group LLC, has provided a $42.9 million bridge loan to refinance Risor of St. Louis Park, a 170-unit active adult community in the Minneapolis suburb of St. Louis Park. The borrower, Roers Cos., will use the financing primarily to retire an existing construction loan on the Class A property at 3510 Beltline Blvd. Completed in November 2023, the community is 78 percent leased. The six-story building features an interior courtyard and 4,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space. Amenities include a coffee bar, golf simulator, pet wash, fitness center, movie theater, library lounge, clubroom, pool, spa and pickleball court. Scott Loving, William Hintz, Scott Streiff and Gary Marchiori of JLL arranged the loan.