CHICAGO—H. Ross Ford, president and chief executive officer of TCN Worldwide, has just announced the firm's 2017-2018 board of directors, which were elected at its fall conference held in Santa Monica, CA. A consortium of independent commercial real estate firms, TCN Worldwide serves more than 200 markets across 24 countries. Gerald F. Sullivan, principal and managing broker of PW Commercial/TCN Worldwide, (pictured) will serve as vice chairman of the board. Sullivan began his career in the corporate services group of Baird & Warner and joined Paine Wetzel Commercial Real Estate in 1992. Barry Beitler, president of Beitler Commercial Realty Services/TCN Worldwide in Los Angeles, will serve as chairman. William Sitar Jr., vice president at Sitar Realty/TCN Worldwide in NJ, will serve as treasurer. Ben Azulay, principal and executive managing director at Bradford Allen Realty/TCN Worldwide in Chicago, will serve as secretary. Both David Wallach, president of Barclay Street Real Estate/TCN Worldwide in Calgary, and Timothy Mitchell, principal at Norris & Stevens, Inc./TCN Worldwide in Portland, will serve as at-large members.

MINNEAPOLIS—HGA Architects and Engineers has just hired Josh Stowers, as associate vice president and principal in its Minneapolis office. He will lead business development opportunities, marketing strategies, client relations and new projects for the firm's public and corporate practice group. Stowers has more than 15 years of project leadership and design experience focused on corporate and commercial architecture for such companies as 3M, Honeywell, Urban Outfitters, and Aimia. His expertise includes project management, design, workplace strategy, sustainability, and adaptive re-use. Before joining HGA, Stowers was a principal with Meyer, Scherer & Rockcastle in Minneapolis, where he led project teams for the firm's market base in corporate, higher education, and community work.

DEALTRACKER

CHICAGO—M & J Wilkow has just completed the sale of 701 E. 22nd St. an office complex located in suburban Lombard. The 174,098 square foot property was sold to a joint venture of Red Rock and Lincoln Property Co. M & J Wilkow acquired the office complex in September 2014 with a fund managed by DRA Advisors. At the time of that acquisition, tenants leased 81% of the property. By the time of this latest sale, however, Wilkow had boosted occupancy to 97%. In the past few years, to improve the overall building the company upgraded its lobby atrium and modernized the corridors and fitness center. Additional improvements included upgrades to the HVAC systems, parking deck and roofs. “The sale of 701 E. 22nd St. and the value realized through this transaction exemplifies the successful completion of our strategic plan, which was to achieve lease-up by improving the building's amenities in order to create a best-in-class office complex,” says John Wiechart, senior vice president of acquisitions and asset management.

CHICAGO—Savills Studley recently negotiated a lease renewal on behalf of Combined Insurance Co. of America at 111 E. Wacker Dr., Illinois Center. The company's 103,629-square-foot footprint across three floors will also be repurposed and cosmetically enhanced. “Illinois Center continues to offer a vibrant location and slate of new amenities for our client,” says Robert Sevim, Savills Studley's executive vice president co-head of the Chicago region. He represented the tenant in this transaction with managing director Chris Tarzon. “Combined Insurance was able to secure a long-term lease agreement that will support their plans for growth.” A Chubb company, Combined Insurance relocated its downtown operation from the North Side to Illinois Center in 2010, and relocated its headquarters from Glenview to Chicago's Triangle Plaza near O'Hare International Airport in April 2017. In addition to Sevim and Tarzon, Adam Southard of Savills Studley supported the tenant representation team in this transaction. Brad Despot, Monica Moore and Mark Georgas of JLL represented the landlord.

CHICAGO—Marcus & Millichap recently completed the sale of Cook Apartments, an 86-unit apartment building in Libertyville, IL, a north suburb of Chicago about 40 miles from downtown. The sale price of $11.25 million equates to $130,814 per unit. Working out of Marcus & Millichap's Chicago Oak Brook office, Andrean Angelov, first vice president of investments and Ryan D. Engle, senior vice president of investments, represented the seller, a limited liability company. Scott D. Harris, senior managing director of investments, represented the buyer, also a limited liability company. “The village of Libertyville is seeing an influx of renters and strong investment, which includes plans for a new Metra station and the revitalization of the former Motorola Mobility campus on US 45,” says Engle. Located at 201 E. Cook Ave., the five-story complex was built in 1972 and sits on lot of nearly two acres. Comprising a mix of studios, one- and two-bedroom apartments, the community was fully leased at the time of sale.

CHICAGO—The Boulder Group, a net leased investment brokerage firm in Northbrook, IL, has completed the sale of a single tenant net leased Walgreens property located at 4745 W. Belmont Ave. in Chicago, for $6,967,213. The 18,340 square foot store is on the southeast corner of Belmont Ave. and Cicero Ave. This intersection experiences traffic counts in excess of 65,900 vehicles per day. The property is located less than two-miles west of I-90, with easy interchange access. Randy Blankstein and Jimmy Goodman of Boulder represented the seller in the transaction; a Southeast based real estate investment firm. The buyer was a West Coast based real estate investment firm. Walgreens has more than 10 years remaining on their lease that features eight five-year renewal option periods. “Established drug store properties with proven operating histories continue to garner significant investor interest,” says Blankstein.

BUILDING BLOCKS

CHICAGO—A tower crane has risen at the site of Renelle on the River, signaling the start of construction on the 18-story luxury condominium building at 403 N. Wabash Ave., in Chicago's River North neighborhood. It was the city's 60^th tower crane this year, up from 12 in 2010. According to Renelle's developer Belgravia Group, half of the building's 50 residences are already sold. “Renelle on the River is one of the few properties in the area that addresses downtown buyers' desire for an urban lifestyle with the size and feel of a single-family home,” says Buzz Ruttenberg, founder of Belgravia. “And, with only three or four residences per floor, Renelle also offers an uncommon level of intimacy for city-dwellers.” Designed by Chicago-based bKL Architects, Renelle on the River is located on one of the last parcels of land available for development along this stretch of the Chicago River.

DES MOINES, IA—The Opus Group has two new contracts with the Iowa National Guard to design and construct facilities in Sioux City and Davenport, respectively. The Iowa Air National Guard will use the 37,000-square-foot facility in Sioux City and the Iowa Army National Guard will use the 87,000-square-foot building in Davenport. A groundbreaking ceremony was recently held this week for the Sioux City facility. Both buildings will replace existing facilities with modern, state-of-the-art spaces including dedicated areas for specific training programs and improved, more efficient flow for high traffic areas like dining halls and medical clinics. Designed to meet the latest anti-terrorism force protection standards and LEED Silver certification, both facilities will include highly efficient mechanical systems and LED lighting throughout. For both facilities, Opus Design Build, LLC is the design builder and Opus AE Group, LLC is the architect and engineer of record, as well as the interior designer.