This Week's Chicago Deal Sheet

JLL is reassigning its Chicago suburban tenant representation team to the JLL office in O'Hare Plaza at 8725 West Higgins Road. The shift will support new leasing momentum in the Chicago suburban office market, largely driven by many young professionals moving to the suburbs, according to company officials.

"More clients are considering a suburban option of work-near-home, and with suburban landlords offering aggressive rental rates and concession packages, we are seeing an increase in suburban interest from the city," JLL Suburban Tenant Representation Broker Lead Andrea Van Gelder said in a press release.

A recent study by the National Association of Realtors found that 54% of millennial homebuyers chose to purchase suburban single-family homes over the past year, while 15% of millennials chose homes in urban communities.

Alongside shifts in homebuying, JLL has also reported that nearly 66% of office workers want hybrid work models that allow them to alternate between home, office and other locations.

"With companies exploring the opportunity for a hybrid work model, the suburbs are becoming a more cost-effective option for employers," JLL Chicago Broker Lead Todd Mintz said in a release. "Not only are the suburbs attracting a younger and highly educated workforce, but the cost of living and rent is lower than in the city. Combined with the $18.19 per SF difference between suburban and office rents, there is a unique opportunity for companies to provide office space closer to where top talent is moving."

EXECS

Juan Bueno joined Avison Young as principal and U.S. president. Bueno will be based out of Atlanta and Chicago, and oversee all business within the U.S. He will also serve on Avison Young’s executive committee and its board of directors. Bueno joins Avison Young from The Home Depot, where he served as vice president of sales. He also held executive positions with global management consulting firms, including McKinsey & Co.

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Laura Kalina joined the Chicago office of Colliers International as marketing director. Prior to joining Colliers, Kalina was creative lead at InvenTrust Properties. She previously served as senior graphic designer at JLL and senior graphics coordinator at HFF. She began her career with Booth Hansen in Chicago.  

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Clayco hired Ryan Spies as the company’s first vice president of sustainability. In this newly formed role, Spies will develop a strategy to reduce Clayco’s overall carbon footprint, identify sustainable business opportunities, and oversee sustainability practices and training. Spies joins the firm from Saint-Gobain, a manufacturer of building products, where he served as director of sustainability, energy and stewardship.

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The Laramar Group, a real estate investment and property management company, promoted Benjamin Slad to senior vice president of investments. The Chicago-based Slad joined the company in 2004. Among other duties, he will now oversee the company’s entry into medical office and life sciences properties through Laramar Medical Real Estate Fund I.

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JLL appointed Siddharth Taparia to the global role of chief marketing officer. Prior to JLL, Taparia was the senior vice president and global head of corporate brand and experience marketing at SAP.

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Schaumburg, Illinois-based Industrial Outdoor Ventures promoted several professionals. Former Acquisitions Officer James Georgalas was promoted to vice president of finance. Former acquisitions associate Anthony DeLaurentis was promoted to acquisitions officer. Former office manager Tina Torossian was promoted to director of due diligence and marketing.

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Savills bolstered its workplace practice group by hiring Chicago-based industry expert Marty Festenstein. He joins the firm from Nelson Worldwide, where he served as principal and chair of the design firm’s legal workplace practice. In his new role, Festenstein will partner with Savills’ North America legal tenant practice group and work with major law firms across the country.

SALES

LG Development bought a 1.36-acre land parcel at 1143 West Lake St. in Fulton Market for more than $32M. The Chicago Plan Commission approved the developer’s plan to build two apartment towers on the site with a total of 665 units. Scott Maesel and Drew Dillon of SVN | Chicago Commercial represented the seller in the transaction.

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Bridge Industrial acquired a site at 290 Townline Road in north suburban Mundelein that will serve as the future home of Bridge Point Mundelein, a 320K SF industrial facility. The firm broke ground immediately and expects to complete the project, near the four-way intersection at Interstate 94 and Route 60, in Q3 2022. Whit Heitman, Sam Badger and Jared Paff of CBRE brokered the transaction.

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Walton Street Capital sold Prairie Point Shopping Center, a 91K SF neighborhood shopping center anchored by Mariano’s Fresh Market at 3015-3025 East New York St. in west suburban Aurora. Other tenants include Pet People, Prairie Point Dental and Buchar Family Chiropractic. The seller was represented by JLL’s Clinton Mitchell, Amy Sands and Michael Nieder.

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Thor Equities Group acquired two industrial assets at 2750 West 35th St. and 2940 West 36th St. on Chicago’s South Side. The 13.3-acre project, located alongside Chicago’s Interstate 55, represents Thor’s 19th industrial acquisition in the past year. The first site is an outdoor storage yard, while the second is a 33K SF cross-dock truck terminal, which Thor plans to renovate.

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Chicago-based multifamily owner and operator Becovic acquired 6758 North Sheridan Road in Chicago for $9.8M. The deal was brokered by Kiser Group’s Rick Ofman and Danny Logarakis, who represented both the seller, The Vranas Family Trust, and Becovic in the transaction. Built in 1974, the 73-unit apartment building is on the east side of the Rogers Park neighborhood.

LEASES

Prologis signed a full-building, 360K SF lease with Signode at 1600 Central Ave. in suburban Roselle’s Turnberry Lakes Business Park. Signode, a manufacturer and distributor of protective packaging systems, will consolidate operations from several facilities following extensive improvements at 1600 Central. Colliers International Chicago’s Ron Behm and Jonathan Kohn represented Prologis in the deal. CBRE’s Whit Heitman represented Signode.

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Vitas signed a long-term lease renewal at Tinley Crossings Corporate. It currently occupies more than 11K SF within the complex at 8525 West 183rd St. in southwest suburban Tinley Park. Cawley Chicago markets and manages the facility on behalf of ownership. The firm’s Rawly Lantz helped complete this latest deal.

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Cooley, a Palo Alto, California-based law firm, signed a new, 30K SF lease at Bank of America Tower at 110 North Wacker Drive, a 55-story, 1.5M SF office tower developed by The Howard Hughes Corp. and Riverside Investment & Development Co. The firm launched its Chicago office last May and is currently in coworking space. Cooley officials expect to make the move in Q2 2022.

FINANCING

The Chicago office of financial services company Merchants Capital recently secured more than $26M in financing for the acquisition of Island Terrace, an affordable apartment complex in Chicago’s Woodlawn neighborhood. The project is located across from the planned Obama Presidential Center. The borrower, Preservation of Affordable Housing Inc., plans to syndicate the property with a tax-credit structure utilizing both a 4% and 9% Low-Income Housing Tax Credit. Upon syndication, all 240 units will be divided into two condominiums, with 178 units housed in the 4% LIHTC condo and 62 units in the 9% LIHTC condo. POAH expects to begin renovating the property in mid-2022.

CONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT

A joint venture of PCCP and Transwestern Development Co. announced plans to develop a speculative 173K SF industrial facility on 9 acres at 950 Ice Cream Drive in North Aurora, part of the region’s Interstate 88 Corridor. The developers plan to begin construction in October and expect to complete the building, which will feature 36-foot clear heights, in Q2 2022.

THIS AND THAT

Timber Hill Group, a private equity firm specializing in acquiring and developing logistics-related industrial real estate, in a joint venture with Chicago-based Champion Realty Advisors, launched TH Logistics Fund I, a new investment vehicle. The fund focuses on acquiring, developing and repositioning logistics-related, supply chain industrial service facilities in major metropolitan markets. The joint venture plans to acquire $150M in assets over the next 12 to 18 months.