This Week's Chicago Deal Sheet

CRG, the real estate investment and development arm of Chicago-based Clayco, launched U.S. Logistics Fund II, a fund company officials said will develop $1.5B of new state-of-the-art e-commerce and distribution facilities across the U.S. over the next three years. High net worth individuals, family offices, wealth management advisers and other accredited investors can invest in the fund. The company also set a target of 10% investment from women and people of color.

“We are bullish on the growth of e-commerce logistics and excited to expand access to these types of investments through USLF II,” CRG President Shawn Clark said in a press release. “We believe this fund is first of its kind. It’s a natural step in our firm’s evolution and strengthens our position as the most vertically integrated development and building delivery firm in the country.”

Clark added that interest in the logistics sector has grown as the coronavirus pandemic fueled demand for industrial space, especially for modern logistics facilities that replace existing stock, now increasingly obsolete due to many firms deciding to reconstruct their supply chains.

“Our tenants are demanding modern warehouses with taller clear heights for racking, more parking for workers and more stalls for trailer storage as they adapt their supply chains to meet the demands of consumers shopping online,” he said. “And USLF II will allow us to deliver meaningful solutions for our clients while creating value for our investors.”

U.S. logistics users absorbed a total of 223.6M SF in 2020, including a record 116M SF in Q4 2020, according to CBRE. And in Q1 2021, users absorbed an additional 100M SF, pushing down the nation’s vacancy rate to 4.4%.    

The firm launched U.S. Logistics Fund I in 2018 and developed $421M of advanced logistics facilities across many markets. CRG plans to complete in 2022 a 1M SF logistics building in southwest suburban Country Club Hills under its proprietary brand, The Cubes.  

EXECS

JLL appointed Ben Breslau to the newly established role of chief research officer. Breslau will direct JLL’s 450-member research team to provide intelligence on the global future of real estate. Prior to this, he led JLL’s 200-person research and strategy team in the Americas region.

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Stewart Title named Tony Zielinski its division president for the Chicago operations office. He was previously the sales manager for the state of Illinois. Prior to joining Stewart, Zielinski served as the division sales manager for North American Title. Before that, he spent five years with Fidelity National Title as vice president and operations manager for DuPage County.

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Chicago-based Greg Schementi joined commercial real estate firm Cresa as president. In Schementi’s previous role as president, Americas, tenant representation at Cushman & Wakefield, he led the tenant representation service line and oversaw their strategic consulting practice, as well as business incentives and the international service desk.

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Draper and Kramer named Suzanne Weiss as senior vice president, commercial mortgage servicing for its commercial finance group. Weiss will oversee a group of five other servicers and have primary responsibility for servicing Draper and Kramer’s $3.5B commercial loan portfolio, including loans held by third-party borrowers, as well as debt used to finance Draper and Kramer’s own multifamily acquisitions and developments. Before joining Draper and Kramer, Weiss spent 27 years with Allstate.

SALES

A New York-based buyer purchased for $30M a two-complex apartment portfolio in southwest suburban Alsip. The portfolio consists of the 156-unit Orchard Estates Apartments at 4622 West 122nd St. and the 144-unit Woodland Courts Apartments at 3621 West 119th St. 33 Realty and Prime Equities Corp. arranged the sale. 33 Realty's Sean Connelly and George Kokkonas represented the buyer, and Tara Mathew of Prime Equities Corp. represented the seller. The buyer plans to renovate and modernize the properties.  

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A private investor bought Forest City Properties, a 111-unit apartment portfolio on five properties across both Rockford and Loves Park, its northern suburb, for $8.275M. Eric Wagner and James Ziegler, of Marcus & Millichap’s Chicago Downtown and Milwaukee offices, marketed the property on behalf of the seller, another private investor.

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STORE Capital acquired a 149K SF four-building industrial portfolio in west suburban Melrose Park, occupied by Caputo Cheese, for an undisclosed price in a sale-leaseback transaction. Colliers International Chicago’s Mike Senner and Tom Rodeno represented Promus Equity Partners, which led a recent investment in Caputo Cheese, in the deal. The buildings, located at 1931 North 15th Ave., 1945 North 15th Ave., 1951-53 North 15th Ave. and 2050 North 15th Ave., have served as cheese manufacturing and processing, distribution, storage facilities and a company store for more than two decades. Caputo signed a 20-year lease.

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Oak Brook, Illinois-based TradeLane Properties sold for $13.25M two light manufacturing and warehouse facilities in west suburban Itasca totaling 108K SF and currently occupied by Phoenix Converting, a producer of specialty pouches for flexible packaging. Built in 1969, 1500 Bryn Mawr Ave. is 59K SF. Also built in 1969 and expanded in 2001, 1251 Ardmore Ave. is a 48K SF building. NAI Hiffman’s Patrick Sullivan and Ryan Chambers, with Jeff Janda of Lee & Associates, represented the seller. The buyer was a national REIT.

LEASES

Attorney’s Title Guaranty Fund renewed its lease for 25K SF at 1 South Wacker Drive. Nikki Kern and JD Parcheta of The Telos Group represented ownership in the transaction. Brad Metzger at Cresa represented Attorney’s Title Guaranty Fund.

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Venture One Real Estate, through its acquisition fund VK Industrial V LP, a partnership between Venture One and Kovitz Investment Group, bought a 21K SF industrial building at 1421 Armour Blvd. in north suburban Mundelein. The property is fully leased to seven tenants. The building was constructed in 1979 and sits on 1.18 acres of land. Brian Bocci of Entre Commercial Realty represented the seller in the transaction.

CONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT

Wright Heerema Architects completed the repositioning for 200 South Wacker Drive, including a renovation of the more than 2K SF, four-story-tall lobby and an exterior refresh. The owner brought Wright Heerema onboard to distinguish its entrance from neighboring buildings, and the new lobby now features a floor-to-ceiling array of 73 large, color-changing LED lights. Wright Heerema partnered with property manager Manulife Investment, broker Stream Realty, general contractor Pepper Construction, structural engineers Klein & Hoffman and MEP engineers Kent Consulting.