(To read more on the net lease market, click here.)

CHICAGO-MetraMarket, the 200,000-sf ground-level retail redevelopment being created beneath overhead commuter rail tracks, has landed a fresh food market as well as a pharmacy. Paris-based market operator Sebastien Bensidoun has signed a 15,000-sf lease to anchor the redevelopment while Providence, RI-based CVS is adding a 14,000-sf location in the new two-block retail area north of the Ogilvie Transportation Center.

"Fresh food markets have been an essential part of community life in Europe for centuries," Bensidoun says. His market will serve a West Loop community that continues to see multifamily development. "Retail amenities for our West Loop residents are a priority, and this market is a welcome enhancement to the neighborhood," says Fulton River District Association vice president Barbara Frankel Abrams. Adds U.S. Equities Realty chairman Robert A. Wislow, whose company oversees the development, management and leasing of the project, "A vibrant public market has always been a cornerstone of our vision for MetraMarket."

Ogilvie Transportation Center is visited by 95,000 commuters daily, topped only by nearby Union Station. In addition, the Chicago Transit Authority's Green Line station at Clinton Street sees 2,260 commuters a day. "With its tremendous volume of foot and auto traffic, this location is one of the most attractive opportunities we've seen since we entered the region in 2000," says CVS Realty Co. regional director of real estate Michele Dodd.