ROSEMONT, ILL. — Claire’s Holdings LLC, a global accessories retailer and portfolio company of Ames Watson, has signed a 43,200-square-foot office headquarters lease at Columbia Centre III in the Chicago suburb of Rosemont. Claire’s will relocate its headquarters from Hoffman Estates, Ill., with the new space expected to open in early 2027. John Clark and Sean Moran of Newmark and Spence Mehl of RCS Real Estate Advisors represented the tenant. Joe Stevens and Steve Degodny of Transwestern represented the undisclosed landlord. Located at 9295 W. Bryn Mawr Ave., Columbia Centre III is a nine-story office building totaling 238,696 square feet. Amenities include a fitness center, onsite dining and covered parking.
BLOOMINGTON, IND. — Knighthead Funding has provided a $39.75 million first mortgage loan to refinance Stadium Crossing, a 226-unit, 734-bed student housing property in Bloomington located directly across from Indiana University Memorial Stadium. The borrower, Varsity Properties, has owned and operated the community for many years. Stadium Crossing was built in the 1980s.
WAUKEGAN, ILL. — Venture One Real Estate, through its acquisition fund VK Industrial VII LP, has acquired a 122,601-square-foot industrial building located at 3210 Oak Grove Ave. in Waukegan. The multi-tenant property was 66 percent leased at the time of sale. Constructed in 2006, the precast building is demised into three units. It features a clear height of 30 feet, 12 exterior docks, three drive-in doors, an ESFR sprinkler system and parking for more than 125 cars. The available unit is 41,838 square feet, including approximately 2,839 square feet of office space. Venture One plans to complete several improvements to the vacant unit, including office renovations, warehouse lighting and renovations to the bathroom and breakroom. Joe Horrigan, Zach Graham and Ryan Bain of CBRE represented the undisclosed seller. Whit Heitman and Jack Fitzpatrick of CBRE will market the property for lease. VK Industrial VII is co-sponsored by Venture One and Kovitz Investment Group.
LENEXA, KAN. — Copaken Brooks has acquired Kansas Commerce Center, a nearly 98,000-square-foot mixed-use property in Lenexa. The firm will assume full responsibility for property management, accounting and leasing. Kansas Commerce Center is comprised of four buildings, including two multi-tenant flex properties offering a blend of office, showroom and warehouse space; a multi-tenant retail strip center; and a quick-service restaurant with drive-thru occupied by Abelardo’s Mexican Fresh. The property also includes an undeveloped pad site of approximately half an acre. The property is home to 18 tenants, including Wallaby’s Grill and Pub, Philips, DePuy Synthes, Neff Power, Social Security Administration, Apria and Amerita Specialty Infusion Services. Copaken Brook’s Kassie Murphy will oversee retail leasing, while Moly Crawford Munninghoff will handle office and light industrial leasing.
CLIFTON, N.J. — JLL has arranged an $11.5 million acquisition loan for a retail project in the Northern New Jersey community of Clifton. The 4.3-acre site at 1030–1050 U.S. Route 46 formerly housed a vacant commercial building that is being redeveloped into a 48,535-square-foot, grocery-anchored retail center that is 80 percent preleased. Ryan Carroll, Nazario Paragano and Christian Badalamenti of JLL arranged the three-year, floating-rate loan through Fidelity Investments on behalf of the undisclosed borrower.
NEW YORK CITY — Groombridge, Wu, Baughman & Stone LLP has signed a 42,866-square-foot office lease in Midtown Manhattan. The law firm will occupy the entire 37th floor and part of the 36th floor at 1185 Avenue of the Americas, a 42-story building. Lisa Kiell and Andrew Coe of JLL represented the tenant in the lease negotiations. Brian Waterman, Jonathan Fanuzzi, Brent Ozarowski, David Waterman and Kevin Sullivan of Newmark represented the landlord, SL Green.
Birmingham’s retail market continues to show steady momentum as it moves into a new phase, defined by limited supply, strong tenant demand in key corridors and a growing focus on open-air, lifestyle environments. While higher interest rates and construction costs slowed new development activity over the past couple of years, Birmingham’s most established retail corridors have remained active. Well-located centers continue to lease space quickly, and redevelopment opportunities are beginning to reshape several of the MSA’s outdated retail properties. One of the defining characteristics of Birmingham’s retail landscape today is the limited availability of high-quality space in prime locations. Much of the vacancy that emerged during the pandemic has been absorbed, particularly in grocery-anchored centers and lifestyle-oriented districts. As a result, retailers looking for space in established corridors often face a fairly competitive leasing environment. Demand remains strong among quick-service restaurants (QSRs), boutique fitness operators, medical and service retailers and fast-casual and high-end dining concepts. Birmingham’s suburban growth corridors and mixed-use environments offer many of these advantages, allowing landlords in the most desirable centers to maintain strong occupancy while gradually pushing rents higher. Lifestyle centers Open-air lifestyle environments continue to set the standard for Birmingham’s retail landscape. The best example …
SALINE TOWNSHIP, MICH. — Data center development and investment platform Related Digital has secured financing for Oracle’s $16 billion project in Saline Township, roughly 50 miles southwest of Detroit. Originally announced in October 2025, the development is being built for Oracle (NYSE: ORCL) as part of its partnership with OpenAI, an artificial intelligence (AI) research firm and operator best known for ChatGPT. In September 2025, OpenAI, Oracle and Softbank announced plans for the development of five new data centers as part of a $500 billion Stargate initiative. Financing for the project includes equity from Related Digital and funds affiliated with Blackstone (NYSE: BX), as well as fixed-rate, long-term financing from PIMCO (Pacific Management Investment Co.)-managed funds and accounts. Bank of America served as the structuring agent and financial advisor, and Goldman Sachs and Wells Fargo are acting as advisors to Related Digital. According to Related Digital, the new Michigan data center will create 2,500 construction jobs, as well as 450 permanent onsite positions and 1,500 permanent jobs throughout the county. The project will also preserve 750 acres of open space, farmlands and wetlands. DTE Energy is fully supplying power for the project, using existing resources and a new battery storage investment financed entirely by …
TAMPA, FLA. — Newmark has arranged a $94.4 million loan for the refinancing of Hotel Cala, formerly known as Hotel Tampa Riverwalk. The 281-room is located along the 2.6-mile Tampa Riverwalk overlooking the Hillsborough River in downtown Tampa. Jordan Roeschlaub, Nick Scribani, Ricky Braha, Tyler Dumon and Tate Keir of Newmark arranged the financing through Bain Capital and Smith Hill Capital on behalf of the borrower, a partnership between Newbond Holdings and Apollo. The ownership is executing a comprehensive repositioning strategy at Hotel Cala, including a full renovation and rebranding of the property into a luxury hotel under the Curio Collection flag. Renovations will include upgrades to guest rooms, meeting spaces and amenity offerings, including a flagship food-and-beverage concept. The construction timeline for the repositioning was not disclosed.
SAVANNAH, GA. — Noble Investment Group has opened Tempo by Hilton Savannah Historic District, a 148-room hotel located at 220 E. Bryan St. in downtown Savannah. Situated off Reynolds Square and steps from the Savannah River, the hotel represents the first Tempo by Hilton property in Georgia. McKibbon Hospitality manages the hotel on behalf of Noble. Each hotel room offers spa-inspired bathrooms with Bluetooth speaker mirrors and Apotheke bath products; Sealy Accelerate mattresses; Peloton bikes; yoga mats; and resistance bands. Amenities include a lobby with gathering spaces, 3,000 square feet of meeting spaces and a 24-hour fitness center. Food-and-beverage offerings include Waving Girl Rooftop, a rooftop bar, and Bluestone Lane Café, an Australian-style café overlooking Reynolds Square.