Illinois

How to Find the Formula for Success in Chicago’s Retail Market

by Kristin Harlow February 1, 2018

Successful retail development, especially in today’s evolving retail environment, needs constant re-evaluation by developers as well as municipalities. In some cases, the old rules are being rewritten to allow for more creative uses of otherwise stagnant — and sometimes historic — properties. The city of Chicago’s Industrial Corridor Modernization Initiative, designed to relax zoning in areas once reserved for manufacturing, is an excellent example of a notable shift that will allow developers to execute new strategies for retail development, often in combination with other uses. The recently adopted guidelines for the North Branch Industrial Corridor, the first of 26 such areas in Chicago to be evaluated, suggest the formula that will be needed to help realize the city’s ambitious vision. Neighborhood workforce With employers increasingly focused on attracting and retaining talent in a tight labor market, they are seeking locations with a mix of retail amenities that their employees can take advantage of before, during or after the workday. Increasingly, this mix is found in neighborhoods outside the downtown core that offer a relative value when it comes to office rents — another benefit for companies looking to make a move. In some cases, office and retail are located in …

February 1, 2018

Illinois Midwest Office Top Stories

Equity Commonwealth to Sell 2.4 MSF Office Portfolio in Chicago, Philadelphia for $670M

by Nellie Day January 24, 2018

CHICAGO and PHILADELPHIA — Equity Commonwealth (NYSE: EQC) has agreed to sell a two-property office portfolio for $670 million. The properties feature a total of 2.4 million square feet and are located in Chicago and Philadelphia. One of the properties included in the transaction is a 1.5 million-square-foot office building located at 600 W. Chicago Ave. in Chicago. Sterling Bay acquired the property for $510 million. The space serves as the headquarters for Groupon. It formerly served as a Montgomery Ward catalog warehouse. The sale marks a full departure from the Chicago office market for Sam Zell, chairman of Equity Commonwealth. Equity Commonwealth also sold an 826,000-square-foot property at 1600 Market St. in Philadelphia for $160 million. The 40-story building was built in 1983 just a block away from City Hall. The asset is 84 percent leased. The buyer was not disclosed. Equity Commonwealth sold off a bundle of assets in the last quarter of 2017. This included a two-property, 15-building office portfolio in Moon Township and Pittsburgh, Pa., for $71 million; a 131,000-square-foot office building at 789 E. Eisenhower Parkway in Ann Arbor, Mich., for $24.9 million; a 175,000-square-foot industrial property in North Haven, Conn., for $10.5 million; and a …

January 24, 2018

Illinois Midwest Multifamily Student Housing Top Stories

Scion Student Communities Buys 24-Property Student Housing Portfolio for $1.1B

by Nellie Day January 3, 2018

CHICAGO — Scion Student Communities has purchased a 24-property student housing portfolio containing 13,666 beds across 18 states for $1.1 billion. The portfolio involves 20 leading national universities. The transaction also includes the recapitalization of two communities previously owned by Scion-affiliated private syndications. Five different Harrison Street Real Estate Capital funds owned the properties in partnership with multiple operators. Chicago-based Scion Student Communities is a joint venture between the Scion Group, GIC and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB). The portfolio contains a mix of recently developed Class A properties in primarily Tier 1 university markets, as well as select value-added assets. “This is a compelling investment opportunity to efficiently build further scale in the U.S. student housing sector with a portfolio of high-quality, well-located properties in new and existing joint venture markets,” says Hilary Spann, managing director and head of U.S. real estate investments for CPPIB. Harrison Street sold an additional nine-property student housing portfolio to Scion this past March for $465 million. These assets were within a larger 11-property portfolio the JV acquired from four different owners. This portfolio contained a total of 5,000 beds at eight universities. Scion Student Communities notes it plans to pursue additional opportunities to …

January 3, 2018

Illinois Market Reports Midwest Midwest Market Reports Multifamily

The Middle Ground: The Next Great Opportunity for Chicago Multifamily

by Kristin Harlow September 7, 2017

Like other metros, Chicago is in the midst of an apartment boom where the hum of multifamily construction has become commonplace. In fact, approximately 8,000 new rental units are slated to deliver by the end of next year, according to Appraisal Research Counselors. Nearly 4,000 units are expected to deliver in 2019. The majority of this multifamily construction is concentrated on Class A rental high-rises. SixForty (640 N. Wells St.) by JDL Development and 8 E. Huron by CA Ventures — both of which The Habitat Co. will be managing — aim to meet the demand of those looking to be closer to the influx of new businesses moving downtown, as well as an urban lifestyle with robust dining and entertainment options. Like its metro counterparts, Chicago has become a city of renters. According to Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies, the U.S. homeownership rate hovered at just 64 percent at the start of 2017, following 12 years of decline, while the number of renters continued its upswing. In the past five years, an average of 1 million new renter households were formed every year, per the National Multifamily Housing Council. Indeed, these have been good years for those …

September 7, 2017

Retail Southeast Top Stories

Inland Real Estate Group Arranges Sale of 49 CVS Pharmacy Properties in 16 States for $211M

by Nellie Day July 19, 2017

OAK BROOK, ILL. — Inland Real Estate Group has arranged the sale of 49 newly developed CVS Pharmacy properties across 16 states for more than $211 million. Inland handled the deal on behalf of the buyer, an affiliate of the company. The portfolio contains a total of 651,216 square feet. The CVS Pharmacy properties are located in Arizona, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Ohio, Oklahoma, Missouri, Nebraska, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Vermont. “This was an attractive acquisition opportunity due to the fact that we were able to buy all 49 CVS stores in one transaction,” says Joe Cosenza, vice chairman of Inland Real Estate Group and president of Inland Real Estate Acquisitions, the purchasing arm for the company’s various entities. “I like CVS, I like the properties and the investment is good for Inland.” This portfolio acquisition follows on the heels of Inland’s October 2016 purchase of 24 additional newly developed CVS Pharmacy properties for more than $116 million. Those assets are located in Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia and Wisconsin. David Neboyskey and Kristin Orlando acted as in-house counsel for Inland in this latest portfolio transaction. The Inland …

July 19, 2017

Illinois Market Reports Midwest Midwest Market Reports

Lifting the Veil on Chicago and Cook County Real Estate Taxes

by Kristin Harlow July 6, 2017

It seems like politics watchers and the news media like to establish a veil of mystery around Cook County tax assessments. And although it sells papers and conjures an atmosphere of the unknown, the most important thing to know about tax relief in Cook County is the role of market value in assessments and how taxes are calculated. On June 13, taxing entities announced that tax rates in the City of Chicago would be going up approximately 10 percent. The second installment 2016 tax bills were scheduled to be published around July 1 with a very short payment deadline of Aug. 1, 2017. Those bills will reflect all changes to assessments, as well as the new tax rates. Tax increases make good headlines, but the increases were not a real surprise. The large anticipated property tax increases arise from a local ordinance designed to recapture a portion of the City of Chicago’s and Chicago Public Schools’ large budget deficits and pension plan deficits. This local real estate tax increase resulted from the absence any current resolution of the continuing budgetary stalemate between the general assembly and the governor’s office in Springfield, Illinois. The table below illustrates the potential real estate …

July 6, 2017

Illinois Industrial Market Reports Midwest Midwest Market Reports

Priming Chicago’s Industrial Corridors For 21st Century Development

by Kristin Harlow June 22, 2017

As Chicago has emerged as one of the country’s top tech capitals, large parcels of land across the city -— many set aside for manufacturers that no longer do business there — have remained stuck in the past, serving as roadblocks to billions of dollars in new real estate development. That’s about to change thanks to a yearlong effort spearheaded by Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the city’s Department of Planning and Development, which recently approved recommendations for modernizing the first of 26 industrial corridors across the city. The recommendations are the result of a community engagement process that solicited feedback from various stakeholders, including our firm and other real estate developers. The plan will pave the way for new residential and commercial projects throughout the North Branch Industrial Corridor, which stretches from Kinzie Street to just north of Fullerton Avenue along the Chicago River. These investments, which include much-needed infrastructure and open space initiatives, will engage the adjacent riverfront and create mixed-use environments. The early years In the 1980s, the city of Chicago designated a series of industrial corridors and Planned Manufacturing Districts (PMDs) — many along waterways and railways — to protect the city’s industrial base from encroachment by …

June 22, 2017

Illinois Market Reports Midwest Midwest Market Reports Office

Strong Tenant Demand Continues to Propel Chicago’s Office Market

by Kristin Harlow June 15, 2017

In spite of the ongoing fiscal woes of the State of Illinois and City of Chicago, the downtown office market in the Windy City continues to experience solid growth in demand for quality office space. The first quarter of 2017 saw net absorption of 374,000 square feet, a 54 percent increase from the 243,000 square feet of net absorption recorded during the first quarter of 2016. This comes on the heels of a spike in supply in the central business district (CBD) of Chicago, with the opening of two new Class A office towers during the past two quarters: 150 North Riverside Plaza and 444 West Lake Street, developed by Riverside Investment & Development Co. and Hines Interests, respectively. These trophy assets added 2.4 million square feet of office space to the CBD. With these additions, Chicago’s office inventory in the CBD expanded from 132.6 million square feet in the first quarter of 2016 to 135 million square feet in the first quarter of 2017. Two additional towers under construction now at 151 N. Franklin Street and 625 W. Adams Street will open in the next 12 months, adding an additional 1.3 million square feet to the supply and bringing …

June 15, 2017

Illinois Industrial Market Reports Midwest Midwest Market Reports

2017 Poised to Be Another Great Year for Chicagoland Industrial

by Kristin Harlow April 6, 2017

The Chicagoland industrial market has started 2017 with a full head of steam and doesn’t appear ready to cool down anytime soon. With historically low vacancy rates, high net absorption and strong tenant demand, the outlook is positive for new construction in the pipeline, even with the recent uptick in interest rates. Net absorption of industrial space topped 19.3 million square feet in 2016, outpacing the 18.2 million square feet of new product delivered, according to CoStar Group. The metro Chicago vacancy rate at the end of the year was 6.5 percent, a drop of about 50 basis points over the previous 12 months. As for 2017, we see increasing competition for well-located land sites, especially from speculative developers who see opportunity in the rising demand for state-of-the-art facilities equipped for today’s sophisticated users. The jungle effect We have seen strong activity from tenants ranging from global logistics providers to regional distributors. However, a large share of the total net absorption in 2016 came from one well-known and much sought-after tenant — Amazon. The retailing giant has been leasing warehouse/distribution space at a rapid pace, and it seems as though every other week we are reading about a new distribution method, business …

April 6, 2017

Hospitality Illinois Market Reports Midwest Midwest Market Reports

Hotel Sector is on ‘Glidepath to Oversupply,’ But Chicago Could See a Soft Landing

by Kristin Harlow March 30, 2017

I am heartened to see that my projections for 2016 in the Midwest hotel marketplace — particularly Chicago, my home market — held up fairly well. In a column that I authored for Heartland Real Estate Business this time last year, I pointed out “the question of whether supply will outpace demand is changing from if to when in many of these markets.” That trend line has continued, although the momentum of it in some markets has, to some extent, delayed the inevitable. The demand side of the equation exceeded expectations in the fourth quarter of 2016 and so far in the first quarter of 2017. This has helped markets absorb the additional supply. I also wrote in last year’s column that “perhaps the single most important factor to watch with regard to the Chicago hotel market in 2016 is whether and to what extent strong leisure demand will continue to offset the influx of new hotel properties.” Sure enough, we saw strong leisure demand during the traditionally busy part of the year, and Chicago welcomed a record number of visitors during the first three quarters of 2016. Strong leisure and group segment performance during this period helped overall demand …

March 30, 2017

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