ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, ILL. — SVN | Chicago Commercial has brokered the sale of The Esplanade at Arlington Heights for $4.4 million. The 18,419-square-foot retail property is located at 2920-2964 W. Euclid Ave. in Arlington Heights. Subway and Starbucks are the anchor tenants. Tim Franz and John Livaditis of SVN represented the seller, a private real estate investment group. The buyer was not disclosed.
CHAMPAIGN URBANA AND NORMAL, ILL. — Ready Capital has provided an $11.9 million loan for the acquisition and renovation of a 79-unit, 276-bed student housing portfolio at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Illinois State University. The borrower plans to extensively renovate the unit interiors. The nonrecourse, fixed-rate loan features a three-year term.
CHICAGO — Intelligent Medical Objects (IMO), a medical technology company, has signed a 13,424-square-foot office lease at the Inland Steel Building in Chicago. IMO will move from its current WeWork space at 100 S. State St. to the new location this summer. Approximately 75 employees will work in the space, which encompasses the entire 18th floor. Jon Azulay, Robert Sevim and Adam Southard of Savills represented IMO in the lease transaction. Mark Buth and Kelsey Morgan of MBRE represented the owner, Capital Properties. IMO is headquartered in Rosemont, Illinois.
SPRINGBORO, OHIO — NorthMarq Capital has arranged a $4.3 million loan for the refinancing of South Pioneer Industrial, a 131,000-square-foot industrial building in Springboro. MCM Electronics occupies the facility, which is located at 405 S. Pioneer Blvd. Noah Juran of NorthMarq arranged the five-year loan, which features a 25-year amortization schedule. A local bank provided the loan.
FLAT ROCK, MICH. — Ford has unveiled plans to begin producing battery electric vehicles at its Flat Rock assembly plant in Southeast Michigan. Ford plans to invest more than $850 million in the Flat Rock assembly plant through 2023, adding a second shift and approximately 900 new jobs. The plant investment also includes funding to build the next-generation Mustang and is the bulk of a $900 million investment in Ford’s operations in Southeast Michigan. Ford also said it will begin building an all-electric SUV starting in 2020 at its Cuautitlan, Mexico plant. Production of Ford’s first autonomous vehicles will begin in 2021 for deployment in commercial use.
CHICAGO — Clayco is nearing completion of a new 149-unit apartment project known as Upshore Chapter in Chicago. Pre-leasing will begin in May and the first residents are expected to move into the property in July. Amenities include a rooftop terrace, 24-hour fitness center, coffee bar, dog run, bike storage and a Luxer One package system. Monthly rental rates start at $1,460. Approximately 5,300 square feet of ground-floor retail space is available for lease.
OMAHA, NEB. — NorthMarq Capital has arranged a $5.2 million loan for the acquisition of a 61,120-square-foot office property in Omaha. A single tenant occupies the building, which is located at 10802 Farnam Drive. Bob Chalupa of NorthMarq arranged the 10-year loan, which features a 22-year amortization schedule. A life insurance company provided the loan.
CHICAGO — Cawley Chicago has brokered the sale of a 70,000-square-foot industrial building in Chicago for an undisclosed price. The property is located at 3950 S. Karlov Ave. Frank Melchert and Stevan Arandjelovic of Cawley represented the seller, PanHellenic Scholarship Foundation. The buyer was not disclosed.
STRONGSVILLE, OHIO — Hand & Stone Massage and Facial Spa has signed a 3,264-square-foot lease to open in Strongsville, a suburb of Cleveland. The company will occupy the space at Ledgewood Plaza. Sherrie Mendenhall of Coldwell Banker Commercial/Emmco Realty Group represented the tenant in the lease transaction.
Stakes are rising in the war for talent, and employers are using amenity-rich real estate to win the hearts and minds of the brightest young recruits. Determined to outflank the competition, companies are increasingly focused on occupying buildings with the best available on-site features, proximity to nearby amenities, and the elusive “cool” factor. Competition escalates To heed the call for better offerings, landlords in Minneapolis have begun to offer unconventional amenities including golf simulators and nap pods. As owners of traditional Class B and C buildings undertake renovations and amenity package upgrades to compete with Class A properties, lines between building classes are starting to blur. Tenants will likely start taking a more cautious approach to real estate, reflecting an increase in business uncertainty and projections for slower growth. This mindset will decrease appetites for relocations, prompting more renewals in 2019. Despite this trend, there will be a healthy number of relocations for those tenants that have not yet right-sized by employing modern furniture systems, single-sized offices, more natural light and more collaborative space. Within tenants’ spaces, private offices will grow increasingly scarce, and those that remain will move to the interior to provide more light, greater flexibility and better …
