He says this hotel will be the first new construction in 20 months, a welcome change. About 95% of the company’s hotels had been new construction, but the firm had to switch to conversion tactics during the down economy.

“We wanted to keep growing, but there just wasn’t any financing available,” Burgett says. “The market is finally starting to loosen, though even this project was still a year-long process. However, we recently had some more contracts go through rather quickly, we’re seeing the handwriting that things are turning around, especially in the Midwest.”

He says Iowa and the Dakotas have been very strong in activity due to corn and oil energy firms having booming years. “These areas are full of guests with not enough rooms,” Burgett says.

DETROIT-Mayor Dave Bing joined Whole Foods Market executives, Detroit Economic Growth Corp. President and CEO George Jackson Jr., and others Thursday at a press conference to announce that Whole Foods Market has signed a lease to open one of its stores in the heart of Midtown Detroit. The 20,000-square-foot store will be at the northwest corner of Mack Avenue and John R. Road. The store will be the only national chain supermarket located within the Detroit city limits. "I want to thank Whole Foods for recognizing that Detroit is a great investment," said Bing. "The demand is here, because Detroiters are spending $200 million outside the city for groceries.” The DEGC worked with a developer, Ram Realty Services, to structure a public-private partnership to lease the property to Whole Foods Market. Whole Foods is reportedly being given more than $4 million in incentives to locate in Detroit.

DETROIT-Mid-America Real Estate-Michigan Inc. recently announced a 2,978-square-foot lease in the Union at Midtown, a new mixed-use development in the heart of Midtown Detroit at 4830 Cass Ave. Adam Goodman and Tony Schmitt represented the tenant, Urban Partnership Bank, in this transaction.

DETROIT-Marc Strauss and David Wells with Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services have secured a listing for a 139,056-square foot single-tenant net-leased Home Depot at 18700 Meyers Rd. here. The listing price is $17.6 million, which equates to a 7.5 percent cap rate. Strauss said in a statement that this is the only Home Depot in Detroit, with 12 years remaining on the retailer’s triple net lease. The store has been at the location since Kmart moved out in 2004, Wells said.

FARMINGTON HILLS, MI-Agree Realty Corp. has appointed Hedley Williams as chief investment officer. Williams will lead the company’s investment activities, as well as financing efforts, investor relations, asset level and portfolio risk assessment, portfolio balance and strategic planning. The company owns and operates a portfolio of 81 properties located in 17 states, containing 3.8 million square feet of leasable space.

CHICAGO-The locally based Boulder Group, a national single tenant net lease investment brokerage firm, has been selected as the advisor for the sale of a Walgreens portfolio consisting of four properties. Three of the properties are located in the Chicago suburbs and the remaining asset is located in Cedar Rapids, IA. The investment sales team will be led by Randy Blankstein and Jimmy Goodman. The portfolio is listed for sale with an asking price of $14.2 million, which equates to an initial cap rate of 8%. The properties are leased to Walgreens with various lease term lengths and can be bought individually or as an entire portfolio. The Illinois locations are in Tinley Park, Gurnee and Aurora.

BENSENVILLE, IL-Muktanand Foods has completed a lease for office and warehouse space here. Podolsky Northstar CORFAC International completed the tenant representation assignment. The company, a distributor of Indian food, will use its 12,948 square feet of space at 483 Thomas Dr. as its headquarters. The space features 18-foot ceilings, two interior docks and 1,000 square feet of office. In addition, Muktanand will be adding a 2,000 square foot freezer to the premise. With this lease the 64,748-square-foot, multi-tenant building is 100% leased. It is owned by RREEFF. According to Josh Altman, a Podolsky associate, the tenant sought a location in close proximity to O’Hare. Altman represented Muktanand Foods in the transaction. Joe Bronson with NAI Hiffman represented building ownership. Muktanand Foods received legal representation from Keith Zerman with Gardi & Haught Ltd.

SCHAUMBURG, IL-Steven Kling, principal, and Jason Simon, senior associate, both with the Office Advisory Group at Colliers International Chicago, represented PNC Realty Investors in a 106,382-square-foot long-term lease renewal at Four Woodfield Lake, 930 National Pkwy. Constructed in 1989, the property is the final building constructed in the Woodfield Lake Office Center near Higgins and Plum Grove roads in northwest suburban Schaumburg. AT&T has leased the entire five-story building since 1990. George Kotriogiannis with Jones Lang LaSalle represented AT&T

ADDISON, IL-Chris Nelson, principal, and Mike Plumb, VP with Lee & Associates of Illinois LLC recently completed the sale of a 61,250-square-foot, food-grade building at 40 W. Fullerton Ave. Tom Rodeno and Jonathon Kohn with Colliers International represented the purchaser, Fortune Fish, in the transaction.

RICHMOND, IN-Chicago-based Quantum Real Estate Advisors Inc. brokered the sale of a single-tenant Best Buy property here. The property was sold to Cole Capital for $4.8 million. The property is a 30,983-square-foot new construction building that is part of Richmond Village Shopping Center. Other anchor tenants include Kohl’s and Menard’s. The seller was development group based in Chicago and Pennsylvania. Chad Firsel, Quantum’s president, represented the seller and purchaser in the transaction. “We received several offers within a very short time frame due to the demand for this type of product: long-term, credit-driven lease,” he said in a statement.

LAFAYETTE, IN-Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services recently announced the sale of Armory Loft Student Housing Apartments, a 32-unit apartment property here. The asset commanded a sales price of $2.4 million, or $67,143 per unit. Scott Harris, SVP and Colin Atkinson, an associate, marketed the property on behalf of the seller, a private investor. The buyer, a limited liability company, was also secured and represented by Harris. Armory Loft is at 802 North 9th St., just east of the Wabash River. The property sold in 123 days from the date it first became available.

ST. CHARLES, MO-David Farrell, SVP and managing director with NorthMarq Capital, arranged a fixed rate first mortgage of $25 million for Villages of Bogey Hills, a 480-unit multifamily community located at 2200 Lake Ct. here. Financing was based on a 10-year term and a 30-year amortization schedule and was arranged for the borrower by NorthMarq through its seller-servicer relationship with Freddie Mac through its Capital Markets Execution Program.

VERSAILLES, KY-Centro Properties Group US recently announced a 2,800 square foot Craig's Shoe Co. has opened at Lexington Road Plaza, located at US-60 near the beginning of the Blue Grass Parkway. Centro, the owner, was represented by Robin Stanley.

ST. PAUL, MN-NorthMarq recently represented Mental Health Resources Inc. with an 11,985-square-foot lease at 800 Transfer Rd. Eric King, VP with NorthMarq, worked with CB Richard Ellis’ Gerald Driessen on the agreement. The building, owned by 316 on the Park LLC, is now at 75% occupancy. After more than 20 years at 1821 University Ave. in the city, MHR plans to relocate to new corporate offices on Aug. 1. The move brings MHR under the same roof as the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) and The Arc, a human rights advocate for mental health communities.