CIM Group, best known for making blockbuster acquisitions such as Block 37 and Tribune Tower, is exhibiting an appetite for real estate outside of the downtown core. CIM bought a two-building Wicker Park portfolio from LG Development along the hot Milwaukee Avenue TOD corridor for a combined price of nearly $58M, Crain's Chicago Business reports.

CIM paid $26.3M for a mixed-use office, residential and retail asset at 1643 North Milwaukee, and $31.47M for a mixed-use residential and retail building at 1237 North Milwaukee. The two buildings house 96 apartments, over 17K SF of office space and 23K SF of retail.

LG Development's return on investment for the 1237 North Milwaukee property is massive. The firm paid $3.4M in 2014 for a stretch of buildings from 1237 to 1253 North Milwaukee. With Wicker Park having morphed into one of Chicago's top retail corridors, LG's return on one building in that stretch is almost 10 times what it paid for the entire portfolio.