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LANSING, IL-Office Depot Inc., which had been sending rent checks to Dallas-based Prentiss Properties Trust, has renewed its 189,000-sf lease at 16801 S. Exchange Ave. The property was among 2.9 million sf of office and industrial assets sold by the REIT as it exited the local market in 2005.

Columbia Illinois Exchange Industrial LLC paid nearly $17.9 million for the south suburban building in October, according to property records. Lincoln Property Co. vice presidents Steven J. Medwin and Harry E. Wardell represented Office Depot in negotiations with the limited liability corporation that bought the property, located near Interstate 94, Route 394 as well as the state line. They also represented Office Depot in a renewal of a 157,500-sf lease in Charlotte.

Vacancy in the 58.4-million-sf south suburban submarket was most recently 11.9%, according to Delta Associates, with another 700,000 sf of warehouse and distribution space under construction. Vacancy rose 3.5 percentage points since 2004, according to Transwestern Commercial Services' research arm.