MILWAUKEE — Berkadia has arranged the sale of Franklin Park Apartments in Milwaukee for $9.5 million. The 128-unit multifamily property was 95 percent occupied at the time of sale. Ralph DePasquale, Parker Stewart and Alex Blagojevich of Berkadia represented the seller, Milwaukee-based Brickman Real Estate and Peloton Investors. Chicago-based Tricap Residential Group purchased the asset.
WHEELING, ILL. — The Lynmark Group has completed the ONE luxury apartments at Wheeling Town Center in suburban Chicago. A grand opening weekend event for the public will take place Friday through Sunday, May 17-19. The property offers unique floor plans with private terraces, balconies, keyless entry and in-unit washer and dryers. Amenities include Peloton bikes, dog washing stations, pool and cabana, yoga studio, clubroom, demonstration kitchen and electric vehicle car charging stations. Residents can now earn two months of free rent when signing a 14-month lease. Monthly rents start at $1,520. Wheeling Town Center features 100,000 square feet of retail, restaurant and entertainment space. The entire mixed-use project is scheduled for completion later this year.
MINNEAPOLIS — Lake City Hospitality LLC, comprised of Eagan-based JR Hospitality and Iowa-based Hawkeye Hotels, is partnering with Stahl to convert a vacant office tower and surrounding site located at 317 Second Ave. in downtown Minneapolis into a dual-branded Hilton hotel. The eight-story building will undergo an $18.8 million renovation and 41,129-square-foot addition. The newly transformed space will feature 201 Tru and Home2 Suites guestrooms. Originally built in 1900, the existing 76,000-square-foot building was previously known as the William E. McGee Building. The facility was occupied by Hennepin County’s Office of the Public Defender for over 20 years, but the property has been vacant since 2012. JR Hospitality originally acquired the structure in 2017 before partnering with Hawkeye Hotels in late 2018. Ramaker & Associates Inc. is the project architect. Completion is slated for May 2020.
GRANITE CITY AND GODFREY, ILL. — Triloma Seniors Housing, an affiliate of Triloma Financial Group, has acquired The Fountains at Granite City and The Fountains at Godfrey, both located in Illinois just across the Mississippi River from St. Louis. The communities offer a combined 135 assisted living units. Cedarhurst Living will take over operations. Regions Bank provided acquisition financing through its healthcare real estate group. The amount of the financing and the sales price of the communities were not disclosed. The Fountains at Granite City, which was built in 2000 and expanded in 2006, features 72 assisted living units. The Fountains at Godfrey was built in 2006 and includes 63 assisted living units. The communities have been rebranded to Cedarhurst of Granite City and Cedarhurst of Godfrey. Triloma and Cedarhurst expect to spend approximately $1.8 million to renovate the communities, including improvements to the common areas.
CHICAGO — Brown Bag Seafood Co. will open its newest location in Willis Tower. The fast-casual seafood concept will be located in Catalog, the 300,000-square-foot dining and retail area at the base of the office tower. Catalog is currently under construction. Willis Tower is undergoing a $500 million renovation project, the biggest transformation in the building’s 46-year history. The first phase is expected to be open to the public in late 2019. Brown Bag Seafood Co. joins Convene, Urbanspace, Shake Shack, Sweetgreen, Starbucks and Market Creations. The Willis Tower location will be Brown Bag’s sixth restaurant. Willis Tower, formerly Sears Tower, is a 110-story skyscraper and is the tallest building in Chicago.
WAYNE, MICH. — Dominion Real Estate Advisors has brokered the sale of an 11,050-square-foot industrial building in Wayne for an undisclosed price. The property is situated at 39115 Maple Road. BTS Logistics Inc., a Michigan-based trucking company, purchased the building. Andrew Boncore and Ralph Steinbrink of Dominion represented the seller, BKG Dominion Maple LLC.
LEE’S SUMMIT, MO. — Drake Development will break ground Friday, May 17, on Streets of West Pryor, a 70-acre, $180 million mixed-use project in Lee’s Summit. Streets of West Pryor will be situated at the intersection of Interstate 470 and NW Pryor Road, 18 miles southeast of downtown Kansas City. McKeever’s Market, the first location in the region for the grocery store, will occupy 63,000 square feet and anchor the development. At full build-out, Streets of West Pryor will feature more than 220 apartment units, a 165-room hotel and more than 160 senior living units. Indianapolis-based Pearl Cos. is developing the apartment building, which will include amenities such as underground structured parking, a swimming pool, fitness center, multiple courtyards, and first floor access to restaurants, retail and walking trails to nearby Lowenstein Park. “When people think of a mixed-use development, sometimes the end product falls short. It’s commonplace to have opportunities for live and play, but the ‘play’ doesn’t extend beyond shopping or dining,” says Matt Pennington, Drake Development’s president. “We wanted to extend the ‘play’ to outdoor recreation, and this was achieved through ample green space and walking trails connecting to neighboring Lowenstein Park. It was critical we tailored …
Milwaukee, a city known for beer, motorcycles and baseball, is currently in a position of shifting from what was once perceived as the normal retail marketplace into the new age of retail. This type of retail is ever-changing and has a deeper focus on experiential activities and artisanal food. These two words, “experiential” and “artisanal,” are frequently being used to describe where the retail landscape is heading. Online competitors, as well as changing consumer preferences, are driving out the traditional department store models and forcing retailers to adapt to this way of life or suffer struggling sales and inevitable store closures. Adaptive reuse The story of traditional retail being dead due to online retailers’ entrances into different market segments continues to invade publications throughout the country. While there may be some truth to that for certain retailers such as Toys ‘R’ Us, Babies ‘R’ Us, Shopko, Bon-Ton and Payless ShoeSource, an argument can be made that it was also their inability to adapt in the marketplace that led to their demise. These store closures affected numerous markets throughout the country and Milwaukee was no different in seeing several of these retailers close multiple locations across the metro area, leaving landlords …
GROVEPORT, OHIO — Industrial Commercial Properties LLC (ICP) has acquired a former Sears distribution center in Groveport, a southern suburb of Columbus, for an undisclosed price. The 570,000-square-foot facility is situated on 42.8 acres at 4400 S. Hamilton Road. ICP intends to lease up the vacant property, likely with two tenants. The company has acquired four properties from Sears since 2014.
NAPERVILLE, ILL. — Phillips Edison & Co. Inc. (PECO) has purchased Naperville Crossings, a 146,591-square-foot shopping center in Naperville. The purchase price was $49.9 million, according to Crain’s Chicago Business. A newly constructed, 21,820-square-foot Aldi grocery store anchors the property. Other tenants at the retail center, which is 92 percent leased, include AT&T, Biaggi’s Ristorante Italiano, Massage Envy, Nothing Bundt Cakes, Orangetheory Fitness, Panera Bread and Starbucks. Evan Halkias and Michael Marks of Cushman & Wakefield represented the undisclosed seller in the transaction.