CINCINNATI—Lasserre Bradley, III, has joined Pennrose Properties, LLC as regional vice president of development and will lead the Midwest region from the company's new Cincinnati office. He will be responsible for the execution and continued growth of Pennrose's development pipeline throughout the Midwest including all aspects of the real estate development process. The Philadelphia-based company is currently completing the development and lease-up of Sankofa Village, a multi-phase, mixed-use and mixed income community in Cleveland. Bradley was most recently vice president of real estate development with Ackermann Group where he led the real estate development department and business activities of the firm.

DEALTRACKER

CHICAGO—GATX Corp., a railcar leasing firm, has decided to relocate its headquarters from neighboring 222 W. Adams St. to Chicago's Willis Tower. Melissa Copley, vice chairman of Newmark Knight Frank, represented GATX in the negotiations for the 90,000-square-foot, long-term lease. “Having incorporated beneficial flexibility in our client's headquarters lease several years ago, we were able to provide GATX with another opportunity, well in advance of its lease expiration, to reimagine its headquarters office space,” says Copley. She has worked with since the late 1980s and has structured three global headquarters relocations for the company in Chicago. In addition, Copley has also represented the company in a diverse set of transactions in various markets throughout North America, including a headquarters lease for GATX's wholly owned subsidiary, American Steamship, in Buffalo, New York and an industrial building sale in Canada, among others. Equity Office, wholly owned by Blackstone's real estate funds, owns Willis Tower and was represented by Joy Jordan, Jamey Dix and Maggie Brophy of Telos.

CHICAGO—Newmark Knight Frank has successfully completed three industrial lease renewals in Bensenville, IL. Located in the heart of the O'Hare submarket, Adam Marshall, senior managing director, and Mike Deady, director, represented the tenants in the lease negotiations. “The O'Hare market represents one of the strongest industrial submarkets in the Chicago region and currently has a very low vacancy rate,” says Marshall. “Its proximity to O'Hare International Airport, a diverse labor market, rail and interstate accessibility are among the many reasons tenants seek to renew leases in this tight market and we're pleased to help them achieve the most advantageous terms possible.” In the first transaction, NKF assisted Mitsui-Soko, USA, Inc. in a renewal of 71,242 square feet at 888 Thomas Dr. NKF also represented Lion Logistics in a long-term renewal for 45,088 square feet at 1001 Bryn Mawr, the company's second lease transaction with Prologis. Lastly, Marshall arranged a 43,053-square-foot renewal for Fidelitone Logistics at 1107 Ellis.

BUILDING BLOCKS

KANSAS CITY, KS—Horizon Global, a manufacturer of branded towing and trailering equipment, is nearing completion of a new 512,000-square-foot distribution facility in Edgerton, KS, that officials expect will create more than 120 new jobs. “Our company conducted a freight management and distribution study and, ultimately, selected Edgerton as an ideal location for the center of our North American distribution operations,” says Ron Dill, director of operations and logistics, Horizon Global. The new facility is located at Logistics Park Kansas City, a 1,700-acre master-planned distribution and warehouse development anchored by BNSF Railway's newest intermodal facility. “The Kansas City region continues to stand out as an ideal location for centralizing distribution in the US and North America,” adds Chris Gutierrez, president of KC SmartPort, an affiliate of the Kansas City Area Development Council.

BY THE NUMBERS

SPRINGFIELD, IL—IL home sales largely held steady and the statewide median price increased in June as buyers moved quickly to snap up homes amid tighter seasonal inventory, according to Illinois REALTORS®. Statewide home sales totaled 19,066 homes sold, up 0.3% from 19,001 in June 2016. The median price in June was $216,000, up 5.9% from June 2016, when the median price was $204,000. The time it took to sell a home in June averaged just 49 days, down from 55 days a year ago. Available housing inventory totaled 59,088 homes for sale, a 14% decline from June 2016 when there were 68,720 homes on the market. “Hopefully, now that the state has a budget, a recovering state economy will encourage more investment in housing – both new construction and investment by first-time buyers,” says Geoffrey J.D. Hewings, director of the Regional Economics Applications Laboratory at the University of Illinois.

NEWS & NOTABLES

CINCINNATI—Lasserre Bradley, III, has joined Pennrose Properties, LLC as regional vice president of development and will lead the Midwest region from the company's new Cincinnati office. He will be responsible for the execution and continued growth of Pennrose's development pipeline throughout the Midwest including all aspects of the real estate development process. The Philadelphia-based company is currently completing the development and lease-up of Sankofa Village, a multi-phase, mixed-use and mixed income community in Cleveland. Bradley was most recently vice president of real estate development with Ackermann Group where he led the real estate development department and business activities of the firm.

DEALTRACKER

CHICAGO—GATX Corp., a railcar leasing firm, has decided to relocate its headquarters from neighboring 222 W. Adams St. to Chicago's Willis Tower. Melissa Copley, vice chairman of Newmark Knight Frank, represented GATX in the negotiations for the 90,000-square-foot, long-term lease. “Having incorporated beneficial flexibility in our client's headquarters lease several years ago, we were able to provide GATX with another opportunity, well in advance of its lease expiration, to reimagine its headquarters office space,” says Copley. She has worked with since the late 1980s and has structured three global headquarters relocations for the company in Chicago. In addition, Copley has also represented the company in a diverse set of transactions in various markets throughout North America, including a headquarters lease for GATX's wholly owned subsidiary, American Steamship, in Buffalo, New York and an industrial building sale in Canada, among others. Equity Office, wholly owned by Blackstone's real estate funds, owns Willis Tower and was represented by Joy Jordan, Jamey Dix and Maggie Brophy of Telos.

CHICAGO—Newmark Knight Frank has successfully completed three industrial lease renewals in Bensenville, IL. Located in the heart of the O'Hare submarket, Adam Marshall, senior managing director, and Mike Deady, director, represented the tenants in the lease negotiations. “The O'Hare market represents one of the strongest industrial submarkets in the Chicago region and currently has a very low vacancy rate,” says Marshall. “Its proximity to O'Hare International Airport, a diverse labor market, rail and interstate accessibility are among the many reasons tenants seek to renew leases in this tight market and we're pleased to help them achieve the most advantageous terms possible.” In the first transaction, NKF assisted Mitsui-Soko, USA, Inc. in a renewal of 71,242 square feet at 888 Thomas Dr. NKF also represented Lion Logistics in a long-term renewal for 45,088 square feet at 1001 Bryn Mawr, the company's second lease transaction with Prologis. Lastly, Marshall arranged a 43,053-square-foot renewal for Fidelitone Logistics at 1107 Ellis.

BUILDING BLOCKS

KANSAS CITY, KS—Horizon Global, a manufacturer of branded towing and trailering equipment, is nearing completion of a new 512,000-square-foot distribution facility in Edgerton, KS, that officials expect will create more than 120 new jobs. “Our company conducted a freight management and distribution study and, ultimately, selected Edgerton as an ideal location for the center of our North American distribution operations,” says Ron Dill, director of operations and logistics, Horizon Global. The new facility is located at Logistics Park Kansas City, a 1,700-acre master-planned distribution and warehouse development anchored by BNSF Railway's newest intermodal facility. “The Kansas City region continues to stand out as an ideal location for centralizing distribution in the US and North America,” adds Chris Gutierrez, president of KC SmartPort, an affiliate of the Kansas City Area Development Council.