CHICAGO — CA Student Living and MCJ Development, headed by Chicago developers Keith Giles and Mike Moyer, have acquired the Old Colony building in the Chicago Loop area. The firms are planning to transform the landmark building into student apartments. The new apartments will be fully furnished and feature open floor plans with wood grain flooring, European style kitchens, stainless steel appliances and flat screen TVs. The building will also include a 24/7 Wi–Fi study lounge with coffered ceilings and health club-like fitness center on the second floor, as well as a private residents-only rooftop event space with outdoor grilling terrace and panoramic city and lake views. The 17-story Old Colony building, designed by Holabird and Roche Architects, was constructed in 1894 and most recently operated as partially occupied office building.
Property Type
GREENFIELD, IND. — Tikijian Associates has arranged the sale of Greenfield Knoll Apartments, an 80-unit property in Greenfield, an eastern suburb of Indianapolis. The property was built in the late 1980s and is located in two adjacent locations east of State Road 9. Tikijian Associates represented the seller, Broad Ripple Equity Investors, in the transaction. Muesing Management, an Indianapolis-based owner and management company, purchased the property. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
ST. LOUIS — U-Haul Corp. has purchased the old Globe Drug buildings, two historic buildings located at 418 S. Tucker Blvd. in St. Louis, for $3.1 million. Constructed by shoe manufacturer Endicott Johnson Co. in 1915 and 1923, the three-story and five-story buildings total 272,000 square feet. The Globe Drug buildings are listed on the National Historic Registry. The opening of this St. Louis facility will be the 27th U-Haul center in Missouri. U-Haul plans to continue operations of the parking garage, which holds 100 cars. The five-story building will be used as a storage facility, and the three-story building will house the retail showroom for selling boxes and packaging, as well as a vehicle rental service. The company plans to move into the building in late April, after renovations are complete. Patrick McKay, Meade Summers and Frank Yocum of Hilliker Corp. represented the seller, R & G Investment Co., which is the parent company of Globe Drug. McKay also represented the buyer, Amerco Real Estate Co., which is the parent company for U-Haul Corp.
CHICAGO — Sperry Van Ness Chicago Commercial has completed the $1 million sale of a 12-unit, 10,250-square-foot multifamily building located at 5300 W. Addison Street in the Portage Park neighborhood of Chicago. The sale marks the first time this property has been sold since it was constructed in 1966 by the seller's family, who remained operators throughout the years. Jack Edgar Jr., Jim Sears and Reid Bennett of Sperry Van Ness LLC represented the seller in the transaction.
NEW YORK CITY — Mesa West Capital has provided $119 million in first-mortgage debt to a joint venture led by New Jersey-based Normandy Real Estate Partners. The joint venture plans to use the funds to recapitalize The Exchange, a 1.4 million-square-foot office portfolio located in Westchester County. The Exchange includes 12 suburban low- and mid-rise office buildings spread across four business parks along Interstate 287 near White Plains. Normandy has invested more than $11 million in capital upgrades throughout the portfolio in an effort to stabilize the assets. A portion of the loan proceeds will go to a targeted leasing campaign, which will be implemented on an asset-by-asset basis, as well as to allow the sponsor to continue to selectively upgrade the properties. Eastdil Secured arranged the financing.
BELLEVILLE, N.J. — Cronheim Mortgage has arranged $8 million in financing for a ShopRite-anchored retail center located in Belleville. The loan, placed with Athene Asset Management, was structured with a 10-year term and 25-year amortization, with five years of interest-only payments and a 4 percent interest rate. Belleville Center LLC was the borrower. Belleville Center is a 70,450-square-foot shopping center, anchored by a newly built, 60,000-square-foot ShopRite. The remaining space is fully occupied by Pizza Hut, Kelly's Liquors and a local jeweler. Allison Moravec and Andrew Stewart of Cronheim arranged the loan.
SOUTHBOROUGH, MASS. — Vantage Builders Inc. has completed an 84,000-square-foot renovation project for Olympus Surgical Technologies America at 136 Turnpike Road in Southborough. The multi-phase project included the renovation of the company’s executive areas, a new training area and carpet installation. Olympus Surgical Technologies America, a technology leader in the field of minimally invasive surgery device development and manufacturing, recently signed a lease renewal and was awarded a tenant allowance for office upgrades. Vantage Builders constructed a 2,100-square-foot training area that included new air conditioning via a 25-ton rooftop unit. Vantage Builders worked closely with the property managers, Capital Group Properties and Holm & Associates. The architects on the project were Fine Associates and the engineers were Avid Engineers and Hung & Associates.
NEW YORK CITY — Colliers International has arranged expansion space with Shopbop at 230 West 41st St. in Times Square West between the N.Y. Times building and 11 Times Square. The women’s clothing division of Amazon now occupies approximately 25,000 square feet in the building. Shopbob relocated to 230 West 41st St. from Soho about 18 months ago — initially signing a long-term, 13,340-square-foot lease for the entire 19th and 20th floors. The firm nearly doubled its space last year, expanding to about 24,000 square feet, with a lease for the entire 18th floor and space on the 16th floor. Now with a third expansion, also on the 16th floor, Shopbop occupies 24,954 square feet total in the building. Built in 1923, 230 West 41st Street is a 20-story building situated between Seventh and Eighth avenues.
HOUSTON — Developer Caddis Partners LLC has broken ground on two new seniors housing projects in the Houston metro area, both of which will be marketed under the company’s Heartis brand. Heartis Cypress and Heartis Clear Lake will each comprise 78 units, including 54 assisted living units and 24 memory care units in either facility. Both properties will feature interior courtyards, chef-prepared meals, housekeeping and laundry services. Caddis Partners will own the facilities, while Eugene, Ore.-based Good Neighbor Care will manage operations. For both projects, Austin-based KATUS is providing architectural services, and the Dallas office of MAPP Construction is serving as general contractor.
SPRING, TEXAS — Woodbine Development Corp. and InterMountain Management (IMM) have purchased more than three acres in the Houston suburb of Spring for the construction of a new 128-room Residence Inn. The extended-stay, select-service hotel will be within the Springwoods Village mixed-use community, an 1,800-acre, $10 billion development designed for sustainability. The property, set to open in the summer of 2015, will be located in proximity to I-45, as well as the future ExxonMobil campus in The Woodlands and the headquarters of Southwestern Energy. Other members of the Residence Inn project team include GH2 Hospitality Architects, Walter P. Moore Engineers and Precision Engineering, all based in Tulsa, Okla.; and DCI Engineers, which is based in Austin.