INDIANAPOLIS—Many office users these days want flexibility, especially those in the tech world, and Indianapolis will soon have a downtown building to help meet the needs of its growing tech community. A group of tech entrepreneurs will officially open The Union, a building focused on housing scale-up technology companies, in the first quarter of next year in The Brougher Building. The former Eli Lilly property is located at 525 S. Meridian and features over 122,000 square feet of turnkey office space with short-term one to three year leases. Health analytics company Springbuk joined in November and SmartFile, a file governance and management company, will follow in February. “Most companies aren't sure where they'll be in two years, much less five,” says John Hurley, partner at The Union and chief executive officer of SmartFile. “Scale-up companies need flexible office space that offers more than coworking studios and the Union accomplishes this feat.”

OAK BROOK, IL—InvenTrust Properties Corp. has just announced that Christy L. David, managing counsel – transactions for InvenTrust, has been appointed vice president, deputy general counsel and secretary. David's appointment follows the departure of Scott W. Wilton, executive vice president, general counsel and secretary. All actions were effective immediately. “Over the past 10-years, Christy has taken on increased responsibility while supporting the changing legal needs of the Company. I am pleased to have her take on this expanded role.”Throughout her time with InvenTrust, David has been involved in several large platform transactions and spin-offs, as well as all property-level acquisitions and dispositions. She also managed legal matters and established the corporate governance program of InvenTrust's hotel platform, Xenia Hotel & Resorts, prior to Xenia's spin-off and listing.

NAPERVILLE, IL—The Great Lakes Region of Ryan Cos. US, Inc. has just hired Sarah Baresel as senior project manager and Mary Hansen as estimator. Both will work out of the firm's Naperville, IL office. Baresel joins Ryan from Lendlease, where she most recently served as senior project manager, a position she reached after nine years with the firm. Her experience has ranged from high-rise and multi-unit residential buildings to a lobby design for a high-end hotel in downtown Chicago. Among the most notable projects Baresel worked on while at Lendlease include: 625 W. Division Street, a 240-unit multi-family apartment complex in Chicago; and the Langham Hotel, a 375,000-square-foot, 316-room hotel in the former IBM Building in Chicago. Hansen joins Ryan Companies as an estimator with 15 years of combined experience at Henry Bros Co. and most recently, Morgan / Harbour Construction LLC.

DEALTRACKER

ELK GROVE VILLAGE, IL—Brown Commercial Group, based in Elk Grove Village, IL, recently represented both the buyer and the seller in the sale of a 61,515-square-foot industrial building at 1340-1400 Higgins Rd. in Elk Grove Village. The buyer, Northern Glass, Inc., will occupy 39,775 square feet of the building at 1400 Higgins Rd. while leasing the remaining portions at 1340 and 1370 Higgins Rd. to Protopak Engineering Corp. and Impact Printing and Lithographers, respectively. The company will triple its space — moving from a 9,075-square-foot space at 800 Lee St. in Elk Grove Village. “This transaction shows the strength of the suburban market and the pace at which companies are expanding,” says Brown president Dan Brown. “We're seeing a lot of businesses willing to invest in longer-term solutions, whether it is buying a building or looking for longer lease terms.”

SCHAUMBURG, IL—Sagent Pharmaceuticals has just signed a 39,767-square-foot long-term lease renewal and expansion at Chatham Centre, 1901 Roselle Rd., in Schaumburg. David R. Kahnweiler, chairman and chief executive officer of Colliers International Chicago, and Darryl S. Silverman, principal, represented Sagent, which expanded its occupied space by 12,109 square feet. Steven W. Kling and Jason M. Simon, both principals with Colliers Chicago-based office advisory group, represented the building owner, Barings Real Estate Advisers, acting on behalf of an institutional investor. And like many owners of class A suburban office space, to retain and attract new tenants Barings is set to make changes to its property. It will complete a new amenity center in the buildings lower level that overlooks the retention pond by the first quarter of 2017, says Simon. It will feature a 3,000-square-foot fitness center and a 2,500-square-foot conference and training center.

BUILDING BLOCKS

ELGIN, IL—Conor Commercial Real Estate, a national real estate developer and member of The McShane Cos., has just delivered Northwest Pointe II and purchased a 20.5-acre site directly adjacent to the recently completed development. The 385,300 square foot, 22-acre Northwest Pointe II and neighboring parcel sit within Northwest Corporate Park near the intersection of Galvin and Higgins Rds. in Elgin. This location offers direct access to Chicago and O'Hare International Airport via I-90 at the Randall Rd. four-way interchange just 1.5 miles away. “Northwest Pointe II was designed and constructed to offer contemporary class A space for a single tenant or multiple users with space available from 65,000 to 385,000 square feet,” says Amy Rzepka, senior development manager for Conor. The precast concrete building features a cross-dock configuration with a 32' clear height. Northwest Pointe II follows the development, lease up, and sale of Northwest Pointe I, a 342,620 square foot speculative industrial facility delivered in 2014.

NEWS & NOTABLES

WARRENVILLE, IL—Ryan Cos. US, Inc. has released building renderings, an animation and an informational website – www.CanteraPoint.com – to publicize its new development at Cantera Point in west suburban Warrenville. The Minneapolis-based Ryan's development plan targets healthcare and corporate users for this 9.5-acre site located north of I-88 within the Cantera Business Park. Company officials believe this move will give prospective users a better sense of the site and how it could look upon completion. “There is great flexibility in the Cantera Point site,” says Curt Pascoe, director of development. “We're releasing renderings that depict corporate build-to-suits starting at 30,000 square feet to a single-building development totaling 85,000 square feet. All present great potential for signage and identity.” Ryan announced the acquisition of the land earlier this year.

INDIANAPOLIS—Many office users these days want flexibility, especially those in the tech world, and Indianapolis will soon have a downtown building to help meet the needs of its growing tech community. A group of tech entrepreneurs will officially open The Union, a building focused on housing scale-up technology companies, in the first quarter of next year in The Brougher Building. The former Eli Lilly property is located at 525 S. Meridian and features over 122,000 square feet of turnkey office space with short-term one to three year leases. Health analytics company Springbuk joined in November and SmartFile, a file governance and management company, will follow in February. “Most companies aren't sure where they'll be in two years, much less five,” says John Hurley, partner at The Union and chief executive officer of SmartFile. “Scale-up companies need flexible office space that offers more than coworking studios and the Union accomplishes this feat.”

OAK BROOK, IL—InvenTrust Properties Corp. has just announced that Christy L. David, managing counsel – transactions for InvenTrust, has been appointed vice president, deputy general counsel and secretary. David's appointment follows the departure of Scott W. Wilton, executive vice president, general counsel and secretary. All actions were effective immediately. “Over the past 10-years, Christy has taken on increased responsibility while supporting the changing legal needs of the Company. I am pleased to have her take on this expanded role.”Throughout her time with InvenTrust, David has been involved in several large platform transactions and spin-offs, as well as all property-level acquisitions and dispositions. She also managed legal matters and established the corporate governance program of InvenTrust's hotel platform, Xenia Hotel & Resorts, prior to Xenia's spin-off and listing.

NAPERVILLE, IL—The Great Lakes Region of Ryan Cos. US, Inc. has just hired Sarah Baresel as senior project manager and Mary Hansen as estimator. Both will work out of the firm's Naperville, IL office. Baresel joins Ryan from Lendlease, where she most recently served as senior project manager, a position she reached after nine years with the firm. Her experience has ranged from high-rise and multi-unit residential buildings to a lobby design for a high-end hotel in downtown Chicago. Among the most notable projects Baresel worked on while at Lendlease include: 625 W. Division Street, a 240-unit multi-family apartment complex in Chicago; and the Langham Hotel, a 375,000-square-foot, 316-room hotel in the former IBM Building in Chicago. Hansen joins Ryan Companies as an estimator with 15 years of combined experience at Henry Bros Co. and most recently, Morgan / Harbour Construction LLC.

DEALTRACKER

ELK GROVE VILLAGE, IL—Brown Commercial Group, based in Elk Grove Village, IL, recently represented both the buyer and the seller in the sale of a 61,515-square-foot industrial building at 1340-1400 Higgins Rd. in Elk Grove Village. The buyer, Northern Glass, Inc., will occupy 39,775 square feet of the building at 1400 Higgins Rd. while leasing the remaining portions at 1340 and 1370 Higgins Rd. to Protopak Engineering Corp. and Impact Printing and Lithographers, respectively. The company will triple its space — moving from a 9,075-square-foot space at 800 Lee St. in Elk Grove Village. “This transaction shows the strength of the suburban market and the pace at which companies are expanding,” says Brown president Dan Brown. “We're seeing a lot of businesses willing to invest in longer-term solutions, whether it is buying a building or looking for longer lease terms.”

SCHAUMBURG, IL—Sagent Pharmaceuticals has just signed a 39,767-square-foot long-term lease renewal and expansion at Chatham Centre, 1901 Roselle Rd., in Schaumburg. David R. Kahnweiler, chairman and chief executive officer of Colliers International Chicago, and Darryl S. Silverman, principal, represented Sagent, which expanded its occupied space by 12,109 square feet. Steven W. Kling and Jason M. Simon, both principals with Colliers Chicago-based office advisory group, represented the building owner, Barings Real Estate Advisers, acting on behalf of an institutional investor. And like many owners of class A suburban office space, to retain and attract new tenants Barings is set to make changes to its property. It will complete a new amenity center in the buildings lower level that overlooks the retention pond by the first quarter of 2017, says Simon. It will feature a 3,000-square-foot fitness center and a 2,500-square-foot conference and training center.

BUILDING BLOCKS

ELGIN, IL—Conor Commercial Real Estate, a national real estate developer and member of The McShane Cos., has just delivered Northwest Pointe II and purchased a 20.5-acre site directly adjacent to the recently completed development. The 385,300 square foot, 22-acre Northwest Pointe II and neighboring parcel sit within Northwest Corporate Park near the intersection of Galvin and Higgins Rds. in Elgin. This location offers direct access to Chicago and O'Hare International Airport via I-90 at the Randall Rd. four-way interchange just 1.5 miles away. “Northwest Pointe II was designed and constructed to offer contemporary class A space for a single tenant or multiple users with space available from 65,000 to 385,000 square feet,” says Amy Rzepka, senior development manager for Conor. The precast concrete building features a cross-dock configuration with a 32' clear height. Northwest Pointe II follows the development, lease up, and sale of Northwest Pointe I, a 342,620 square foot speculative industrial facility delivered in 2014.