CHICAGO—Waterton, a Chicago-based US real estate investor and operator, recently announced that co-founder and co-chairman Peter Vilim will transition to vice chairman. The company has significantly expanded its leadership team over the last five years, and this transition is part of a planned semi-retirement for Vilim effective Jan. 1, 2017. The new position will allow him increase his involvement with various local and national organizations focused on providing affordable housing and homeless services to low-income families and individuals. Vilim, who co-founded Waterton with chief executive officer David Schwartz in 1995, will retain the second-largest ownership interest in the company as well as his equity stake in all existing Waterton property investments. He will also remain on Waterton's investment committee and advisory board and continue to provide strategic direction of the firm. In 2015, Vilim was named president of the board of directors for All Chicago – Making Homelessness History, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to ending homelessness in the city of Chicago. He also sits on the board of Housing Partnership Equity Trust.

NORTHBROOK, IL—Pine Tree, LLC, a Northbrook, Ill.-based retail real estate firm, has just promoted Jennifer Costa from vice president, property management, to vice president, director of property management. In addition, the firm also hired Brian Page as assistant property manager. “This key promotion and new hire reflect our commitment to build and maintain a strong, dynamic team as we continue to expand our portfolio of shopping centers across the country,” says Phil Spitz, executive vice president, property management and accounting of Pine Tree. Costa will oversee the property management department and lead a team that handles operations of the company's national portfolio. Jennifer joined Pine Tree in 2005, and has handled property operations, expense reconciliations, budgeting, and financial management reporting for power centers, community centers, and grocery-anchored shopping centers.

DEALTRACKER

KENOSHA, WI—Colbert Packaging Corp. a manufacturer of folding cartons, rigid setup boxes and paperboard specialty products, has acquired a 173,000-square-foot industrial facility at 9949 58^th Pl. in Kenosha, WI. The recently constructed, class A warehouse will serve as the Lake Forest, IL-based company's manufacturing facility for its flexographic packaging operations and related services. As reported in GlobeSt.com, the town of Kenosha has attracted a number of new users due to affordable land costs, affordable energy, and great transportation networks. Colbert's new facility will consolidate and relocate its flexographic manufacturing operations from Lake Forest and Libertyville, IL, in a move that is expected to bring 100 jobs to Kenosha. The company's corporate headquarters will remain in Lake Forest. It also has a 109,000-square-foot plant in Elkhart, IN. Cushman & Wakefield senior director Eric Fischer, executive directors Brett Kroner and Keith Puritz and senior managing director Bradley Migdal represented Colbert in the transaction. The seller, Zilber Ltd., was represented by Sergio Chapa of Newmark Grubb Knight Frank.

CHICAGO— An investment sales team from Baum Realty Group, LLC has completed the sale of a 13,925 square foot, 100% leased medical building, located at 101 S. Washington Ave. in Park Ridge, IL. Danny Spitz and Greg Dietz, both managing directors of Baum, represented the seller, a national developer. The buyer is a Chicago based investment group. The property sold for $4.1 million. “The variety of complementary medical practices creates a community among tenants making the asset attractive to investors focusing on the burgeoning medical office real estate market,” says Spitz. “All medical practices have occupied the property for 20-plus years which provides a reliable cash flow. Highlighting the future development potential of an acre of land that is a Whole Foods out lot with close proximity to public transit in a downtown suburban location created interest amongst investors seeking multiple exit strategies.”

CHICAGO—The Boulder Group, a net leased investment brokerage firm, has completed the sale of a single tenant PNC Bank ground lease located at 1640 W. Fullerton Ave. in Chicago, IL for $6 million. The property is located in the Lincoln Park neighborhood, one of Chicago's wealthiest and most expensive communities with average single-family home prices of approximately one million dollars. Families within a one-half mile radius have average annual household incomes of approximately $150,000. Randy Blankstein and Jimmy Goodman of Boulder represented both the seller and purchaser in the transaction. The seller was a Midwest based real estate development company and the purchaser was a Midwest based real estate investor. The lease has over eight years remaining and expires in December 2024. The ground lease features 2% annual rental escalations throughout the primary term. The ground lease has six 5-year renewal option periods with 10% rental escalations in each.

BUILDING BLOCKS

MINNEAPOLIS—On Tues., Jan 17, THOR Construction Co. will break ground on its new $36 million headquarters in North Minneapolis. The company believes this move from the affluent suburbs will encourage even more investment in the historically disadvantaged community. “We should provide an example of how to bring transformational change,” Ravi Norman, the chief executive officer of THOR, told GlobeSt.com. “We are going to lead with our dollars and actions, and not just our words.” Along with Norman, founder and chairman Richard Copeland, MN Gov. Mark Dayton, city, county, community and corporate leaders will attend the ceremony at the corner of Plymouth and Penn Ave. The event begins at 1:30 PM.

CHICAGO—The migration of firms from suburban office parks into downtown buildings is a well-advanced process in many core metro areas, including Chicago. But that trend is now gathering steam in many secondary markets where the suburbs have until recently dominated the office market, including Detroit, Indianapolis and Kansas City. And the trend seems driven by the same factors. Millennials all over the nation have rejected suburban lifestyles in favor of walkable neighborhoods in and around urban cores. And that, in turn, has tech-oriented and creative firms flocking to downtown spaces, especially older class B buildings that provide greater aesthetic appeal than many glass towers or suburban campuses. The numbers cited just below, and in an accompanying story on the Indianapolis market, tell the story. But it is highly unlikely that these revived downtowns will begin to dominate their respective regions. As has been seen in the Chicago metro area, where some firms have committed extraordinary resources to new suburban office developments, the suburbs in each area retain a lot of appeal. Tech firms may be headed to downtown Indianapolis, for example, but healthcare and financial services seem happy to remain in the outlying submarkets. Therefore, in the future, most US metros should see a greater balance in demand.

BY THE NUMBERS

INDIANAPOLIS—The office market in this city's CBD has had a great year, according to a new report from JLL, as several firm have abandoned the suburbs in favor of downtown space. It's a big change for this region, where the suburbs have been dominant for a long time. New tenants leased 170,000 square feet in the CBD, leading to more than 100,000 square feet of positive absorption, the most of any submarket. “It was also one of the only submarkets to see vacancy decrease since last quarter,” JLL reported. “This trend will surely continue as almost 150,000 square feet in active requirements of current suburban tenants are looking to move downtown.”

NEWS & NOTABLES

CHICAGO—Waterton, a Chicago-based US real estate investor and operator, recently announced that co-founder and co-chairman Peter Vilim will transition to vice chairman. The company has significantly expanded its leadership team over the last five years, and this transition is part of a planned semi-retirement for Vilim effective Jan. 1, 2017. The new position will allow him increase his involvement with various local and national organizations focused on providing affordable housing and homeless services to low-income families and individuals. Vilim, who co-founded Waterton with chief executive officer David Schwartz in 1995, will retain the second-largest ownership interest in the company as well as his equity stake in all existing Waterton property investments. He will also remain on Waterton's investment committee and advisory board and continue to provide strategic direction of the firm. In 2015, Vilim was named president of the board of directors for All Chicago – Making Homelessness History, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to ending homelessness in the city of Chicago. He also sits on the board of Housing Partnership Equity Trust.

NORTHBROOK, IL—Pine Tree, LLC, a Northbrook, Ill.-based retail real estate firm, has just promoted Jennifer Costa from vice president, property management, to vice president, director of property management. In addition, the firm also hired Brian Page as assistant property manager. “This key promotion and new hire reflect our commitment to build and maintain a strong, dynamic team as we continue to expand our portfolio of shopping centers across the country,” says Phil Spitz, executive vice president, property management and accounting of Pine Tree. Costa will oversee the property management department and lead a team that handles operations of the company's national portfolio. Jennifer joined Pine Tree in 2005, and has handled property operations, expense reconciliations, budgeting, and financial management reporting for power centers, community centers, and grocery-anchored shopping centers.

DEALTRACKER

KENOSHA, WI—Colbert Packaging Corp. a manufacturer of folding cartons, rigid setup boxes and paperboard specialty products, has acquired a 173,000-square-foot industrial facility at 9949 58^th Pl. in Kenosha, WI. The recently constructed, class A warehouse will serve as the Lake Forest, IL-based company's manufacturing facility for its flexographic packaging operations and related services. As reported in GlobeSt.com, the town of Kenosha has attracted a number of new users due to affordable land costs, affordable energy, and great transportation networks. Colbert's new facility will consolidate and relocate its flexographic manufacturing operations from Lake Forest and Libertyville, IL, in a move that is expected to bring 100 jobs to Kenosha. The company's corporate headquarters will remain in Lake Forest. It also has a 109,000-square-foot plant in Elkhart, IN. Cushman & Wakefield senior director Eric Fischer, executive directors Brett Kroner and Keith Puritz and senior managing director Bradley Migdal represented Colbert in the transaction. The seller, Zilber Ltd., was represented by Sergio Chapa of Newmark Grubb Knight Frank.

CHICAGO— An investment sales team from Baum Realty Group, LLC has completed the sale of a 13,925 square foot, 100% leased medical building, located at 101 S. Washington Ave. in Park Ridge, IL. Danny Spitz and Greg Dietz, both managing directors of Baum, represented the seller, a national developer. The buyer is a Chicago based investment group. The property sold for $4.1 million. “The variety of complementary medical practices creates a community among tenants making the asset attractive to investors focusing on the burgeoning medical office real estate market,” says Spitz. “All medical practices have occupied the property for 20-plus years which provides a reliable cash flow. Highlighting the future development potential of an acre of land that is a Whole Foods out lot with close proximity to public transit in a downtown suburban location created interest amongst investors seeking multiple exit strategies.”

CHICAGO—The Boulder Group, a net leased investment brokerage firm, has completed the sale of a single tenant PNC Bank ground lease located at 1640 W. Fullerton Ave. in Chicago, IL for $6 million. The property is located in the Lincoln Park neighborhood, one of Chicago's wealthiest and most expensive communities with average single-family home prices of approximately one million dollars. Families within a one-half mile radius have average annual household incomes of approximately $150,000. Randy Blankstein and Jimmy Goodman of Boulder represented both the seller and purchaser in the transaction. The seller was a Midwest based real estate development company and the purchaser was a Midwest based real estate investor. The lease has over eight years remaining and expires in December 2024. The ground lease features 2% annual rental escalations throughout the primary term. The ground lease has six 5-year renewal option periods with 10% rental escalations in each.

BUILDING BLOCKS

MINNEAPOLIS—On Tues., Jan 17, THOR Construction Co. will break ground on its new $36 million headquarters in North Minneapolis. The company believes this move from the affluent suburbs will encourage even more investment in the historically disadvantaged community. “We should provide an example of how to bring transformational change,” Ravi Norman, the chief executive officer of THOR, told GlobeSt.com. “We are going to lead with our dollars and actions, and not just our words.” Along with Norman, founder and chairman Richard Copeland, MN Gov. Mark Dayton, city, county, community and corporate leaders will attend the ceremony at the corner of Plymouth and Penn Ave. The event begins at 1:30 PM.