CHICAGO—The building boom in 2007 and 2008 created a lot of properties that began underperforming when demand dried up during the recession, but in the past few years investors have been giving many a second look. Greenwood Global, Inc., for example, has just bought Kendall Marketplace, a shopping center in west suburban Yorkville that opened in 2008 in the midst of the financial crisis, and company officials believe it can now fulfill its potential.

“This is the area that was supposed to be the next to develop,” Alex Berman, founder of the Northbrook, IL-based firm, tells GlobeSt.com. The center's developers originally planned to have about 800,000 square feet, but “the sales, while decent, were lower than expected and it wasn't entirely built. Growth is returning and we will be happy to complete the project, although it may take time.”

Kendall Marketplace currently has about 590,000 square feet, which includes space occupied by shadow anchors Super Target, Home Depot and Kohl's. Berman's group bought 192,000 square feet of existing retail space anchored by Dick's Sporting Goods, Marshalls and PetSmart, in addition to several vacant outparcels and adjacent residential land zoned for 192 single-family homes and townhomes. The price was not disclosed.

“We're not a residential developer,” Berman adds, “but on the other hand, we think that as the property matures, the retail component will benefit the residential portion and the residential will benefit the retail.” Greenwood may eventually build the homes, or bring in a joint venture partner to help, but regardless of the route it takes, as demand for new housing in the area begins to swell again, Berman believes it's important for the company to control this land.

The 5-mile area surrounding the property, located about 50 miles west of Chicago, will grow nearly 13% during the next five years, according to JLL, which represented the seller. Managing director Kris Cooper led the JLL team on the transaction.

About 55,000 square feet of Greenwood's owned space, or about 28%, is still vacant, and in addition to finding new tenants, the company also wants to develop the outparcels and even expand the existing space by as much as 155,000 square feet. However, with such a project Berman definitely believes it's important to be patient.

“I've been in business long enough to know that in real estate things happen slowly,” he says. Large retailers plan expansions and new locations well-ahead of time, for example, so fulfilling the property's potential may take a while. Greenwood has hired CBRE to handle leasing.

Berman, a former head of GGP International, also served as chief executive officer of EPN Group three years ago when it completed a $1.43 billion sale of 47 properties to Blackstone Real Estate Partners and DDR Corp.

In the 1970s and 1980s, he adds, there was far more interest in suburban properties than ones in the urban core, “but lately that trend has reversed. People seem to be more excited about projects inside the city. We're a bit contrarian, and our bet is that in the suburbs you can find good developments that can prosper.”