CHICAGO—Chicago-based Fifield Realty Corp. reports that NEXT Apartments, its 310-unit luxury apartment project at 347 W. Chestnut in Chicago's River North neighborhood, has been leasing at a record pace. Open less than nine months, residents have already leased 85% of the 28-story tower. “NEXT has led the way for high-rise residential living in this rapidly emerging tech corridor and set the standard for rentals in the neighborhood,” says Randy Fifield, chairwoman of Fifield Realty Corp. “Young urban professionals, graduate students and older millennials with young children are just a few of the groups choosing the luxury lifestyle available at NEXT. They want a world-class, amenity-rich building that is not just near work, but also in proximity to the city's top schools, restaurants, shopping, parks and entertainment.”

SPRINGFIELD, IL—Alicia Martin, president of Associated Builders and Contractors' IL chapter, yesterday released the following statement today on the IL Senate's balanced budget plan: “After two years without a real budget, it's time for Illinois lawmakers to pursue policies that create the economic conditions for businesses to grow and create jobs. This compromise is a step in the right direction, and legislators should act quickly to bring the plan to fruition. In addition to providing property tax relief and eliminating billions of dollars in government spending, the plan calls for significant reforms to the state's workers' compensation system. These issues must be addressed to get Illinois out of this financial crisis and to give taxpayers and business owners an environment where they can flourish.”

CHICAGO—JLL has just appointed Yann Palmore as a new vice president in its rapidly expanding smart building team. Palmore will educate clients about the benefits of smart building technologies, and help them tailor smart building strategies for their CRE portfolios. He comes to JLL with nearly 20 years' experience in office and technical facilities management, energy and sustainability, and high-performance buildings. Palmore began his career as a facilities manager for Interliant. Most recently, he was founder and president of Evolved Buildings, helping property owners and developers create intelligent IT architectures for “net-zero” and high-performance buildings. Before that, Palmore was president of Sustainable SoCal Inc., a consultancy focused on construction management, energy efficiency and strategic real estate planning. As the owner's representative during construction, Palmore was instrumental in helping the new J. Craig Venter Institute La Jolla win a prestigious RealComm's Digie Award for “Most Intelligent Corporate Headquarters.”

DEALTRACKER

DETROIT—Mission Point Management Services, LLC, a full-service healthcare and property management company, has acquired the former St. Mary's Adult Foster Care Residence located at 2102 Orleans in Lafayette Park in partnership with Slavik Cos., Welbrook Senior Living, and Pierre Boutros and Hany Boutros. Mission Point plans to invest $13 million to transform the 37,000-square-foot building and former foster care facility into a 59-bed skilled nursing and rehabilitation center. Focusing on short-term physical and occupational therapy, the center will serve patients in their transition between the hospital and home. “The acquisition of this facility and our additional investment will allow us to introduce a nursing and rehabilitation experience unlike anything else in Detroit,” says Roger Mali, Mission Point's owner. “We are focused on creating a home-like environment for our patients, fostering extraordinary care, exceptional service and unmatched amenities.”

CHICAGO—Greco & Sons has just bought a 300,608-square-foot industrial facility at 1340 Brewster Creek Blvd. in suburban Bartlett from Brewster Creek of Illinois LLC. Jeff Fischer of NAI Hiffman represented the buyer, and Matt Mulvihill, Kevin Segerson and Cal Payne of CBRE represented the seller. Located in Brewster Creek Business Park and built in 2008, the property offers 30' clear height, 4,160 square feet of office space, 65 car stalls, 64 exterior docks and high image precast construction. It sits on a 16.5-acre property. “There is a lot of demand for class A industrial facilities in the western suburbs,” says CBRE's Mulvihill. “This is a well-located, institutional-quality building and has all of the amenities and specifications to meet modern distribution and warehousing needs.”

BUILDING BLOCKS

CHICAGO—Jeffrey A. Raday, president of McShane Construction Co. says the firm has been selected by UP Development, LLC to complete the new Parkview Apartments in downtown Arlington Heights, IL. The seven-story building is under construction on a prominent infill site at the southwest corner of Dunton Ave. and Eastman St., across from Hancock Square and in close proximity to the Arlington Heights Metra Station. The project will have 45 residential units, ground-floor retail, integrated parking and various sustainable features meeting NGBS Green Certification. On the exterior, the building will complement the surrounding area with design features associated with classic Chicago architecture. The upper five floors will have residences and the second floor and a portion of the first floor will consist of secured parking. Tinaglia Architects, Inc. is providing the architectural services for Parkview Apartments. McShane plans to complete the project by the second quarter of 2018.