CHICAGO—Lyft, one of the top rideshare companies in the US, has signed a five-year lease on approximately 5,500 square feet of space at 3976 N. Avondale in the Old Irving Park neighborhood. The new office will serve as its new Chicago headquarters and drivers hub. “Chicago is one of Lyft's top markets and we've seen consistent growth here since launching service in 2013,” says David Katcher, Chicago general manager, Lyft. “Moving into our new Chicago headquarters will enable us to provide more Chicago-based riders and drivers with the best rideshare experience in the industry.” Lyft expects tens of thousands of drivers to use the new hub for initiation sessions, in-person support for existing drivers, and learning sessions.

DEALTRACKER

CHICAGO—Stan Johnson Co., a brokerage and advisory firm, has completed the sale of 400 S. Financial Pl., one of the more unique commercial retail centers in Chicago's CBD. The buyer, a partnership between North American Real Estate and Belgravia Group, purchased the property for $7,900,000 as part of a 1031 tax-deferred exchange. As one of only two one-story retail assets along W. Van Buren St., the property is currently unrestricted by any vertical leasable area or adjacent and restrictive mixed-use components. Additionally, it's zoning allows for possible vertical development. sometime in the future. The surrounding sub-market has also been growing at a rapid rate since 2010, with several large scale development projects currently under construction or planned to break ground including the redevelopment of Chicago's Old Main Post Office and the Riverline Chicago development.

CHICAGO—Quantum Real Estate Advisors, Inc. has brokered the sale of Cantera Commons, which is comprised of two multi-tenant buildings located at 28341-28361 Diehl Rd. in Warrenville, IL. The property sold for $3,045,000. The sale includes a 10,431 square foot multi-tenant building occupied by Potbelly and 7,423 square foot multi-tenant building occupied by Starbucks and Café Zupos. The buyer was a private real estate investor based in Chicago. The seller was a special servicer on behalf of a CMBS trust. Chad Firsel, president of Quantum, represented both the seller and purchaser.

CHICAGO—Rushi Shah, chief executive officer for Conlon Capital, a commercial mortgage banking firm recently formed by the merger of Aries Capital and Conlon & Co.'s capital markets groups, has arranged over $49 million in non-recourse CMBS permanent loans for eight limited service hotels in IL, MI, NC, PA, UT, and WA. “The recent political climate is motivating owners to take some money off of the table while it remains available,” says Shah. “Cautious optimism in the capital markets about future RevPAR and rent growth is pushing lenders to aggressively lend on good quality assets.” The largest loan was $9.5 million for a 141-key Best Western near O'Hare International Airport in Chicago.

BUILDING BLOCKS

CHICAGO—Liberty Property Trust will hold a ground-breaking ceremony tomorrow at 12:00 PM for its new DuPage County industrial development. The company will construct the 96,000 square foot warehouse property, located directly across the highway from O'Hare International Airport at 350 N. York Rd. in Bensenville, on a speculative basis.

BY THE NUMBERS

CHICAGO—More than 18 million square feet of new industrial product was delivered in Chicago last year. The current pipeline contains just under 20.8 million square feet, as developers work to meet sustained, robust tenant demand, according to Cushman & Wakefield. The company's research department is tracking tenants looking for roughly 20 million square feet of industrial space in Chicago, “indicating market fundamentals such as leasing activity and absorption will continue to improve in the coming months.”

NEWS & NOTABLES

CHICAGO—Lyft, one of the top rideshare companies in the US, has signed a five-year lease on approximately 5,500 square feet of space at 3976 N. Avondale in the Old Irving Park neighborhood. The new office will serve as its new Chicago headquarters and drivers hub. “Chicago is one of Lyft's top markets and we've seen consistent growth here since launching service in 2013,” says David Katcher, Chicago general manager, Lyft. “Moving into our new Chicago headquarters will enable us to provide more Chicago-based riders and drivers with the best rideshare experience in the industry.” Lyft expects tens of thousands of drivers to use the new hub for initiation sessions, in-person support for existing drivers, and learning sessions.

DEALTRACKER

CHICAGO—Stan Johnson Co., a brokerage and advisory firm, has completed the sale of 400 S. Financial Pl., one of the more unique commercial retail centers in Chicago's CBD. The buyer, a partnership between North American Real Estate and Belgravia Group, purchased the property for $7,900,000 as part of a 1031 tax-deferred exchange. As one of only two one-story retail assets along W. Van Buren St., the property is currently unrestricted by any vertical leasable area or adjacent and restrictive mixed-use components. Additionally, it's zoning allows for possible vertical development. sometime in the future. The surrounding sub-market has also been growing at a rapid rate since 2010, with several large scale development projects currently under construction or planned to break ground including the redevelopment of Chicago's Old Main Post Office and the Riverline Chicago development.

CHICAGO—Quantum Real Estate Advisors, Inc. has brokered the sale of Cantera Commons, which is comprised of two multi-tenant buildings located at 28341-28361 Diehl Rd. in Warrenville, IL. The property sold for $3,045,000. The sale includes a 10,431 square foot multi-tenant building occupied by Potbelly and 7,423 square foot multi-tenant building occupied by Starbucks and Café Zupos. The buyer was a private real estate investor based in Chicago. The seller was a special servicer on behalf of a CMBS trust. Chad Firsel, president of Quantum, represented both the seller and purchaser.

CHICAGO—Rushi Shah, chief executive officer for Conlon Capital, a commercial mortgage banking firm recently formed by the merger of Aries Capital and Conlon & Co.'s capital markets groups, has arranged over $49 million in non-recourse CMBS permanent loans for eight limited service hotels in IL, MI, NC, PA, UT, and WA. “The recent political climate is motivating owners to take some money off of the table while it remains available,” says Shah. “Cautious optimism in the capital markets about future RevPAR and rent growth is pushing lenders to aggressively lend on good quality assets.” The largest loan was $9.5 million for a 141-key Best Western near O'Hare International Airport in Chicago.

BUILDING BLOCKS

CHICAGO—Liberty Property Trust will hold a ground-breaking ceremony tomorrow at 12:00 PM for its new DuPage County industrial development. The company will construct the 96,000 square foot warehouse property, located directly across the highway from O'Hare International Airport at 350 N. York Rd. in Bensenville, on a speculative basis.