INDIANAPOLIS—Yesterday, MONEY magazine released its 2017 list of the 100 Best Places to Live in America, and Fishers, IN, a suburb of Indianapolis, was chosen for the top spot. Realtor.com provided data on housing markets for the study. In addition to a strong entrepreneurial culture, Fishers, a town of about 86,000 located just 16 miles from the city, also has major corporations such as student loan provider Navient and Roche Diagnostics. And major redevelopment projects for its downtown totaling $90 million have made Fishers even more attractive to businesses. Moody's Analytics projects 11.6% job growth in the city by 2021, according to MONEY. Stanley Security just relocated its headquarters to Fishers in August, bringing 350 jobs with it, while high-tech company Memory Ventures moved to Fishers from California in 2015. As reported in GlobeSt.com, the town also has a vibrant multifamily market.

CLARENDON HILLS, IL—LM Commercial Real Estate has just hired three new commercial brokers: Ann Kelly Heitner, Richard Schneider and Richard Bowen. Heitner specializes in office and retail properties, Schneider on urban industrial and transitional infill properties. Bowen is a retail leasing specialist. Heitner joins the LM team from Oak Park Avenue Realty, where she was realtor relationship coordinator/broker. Schneider was president and owner of Supreme Novelty Fabrics. Bowden joins LM after serving as the local leasing representative for GK Development, Inc. LM Commercial Real Estate originally specialized in the Chicago area's southwest suburbs and Northwest Indiana and has been expanding its brokerage and development operations to reach both a wider geographic area as well as provide more extensive coverage in all property sectors. “With the addition of Ann, Richard and Rich, LM expands our reach and broadens our ability to more effectively meet client needs,” says Tad Lagestee, president and co-founder of LM Commercial Real Estate. “We look forward to continuing our company's growth and expansion in these important market sectors.”

CHICAGO—Zeller Realty Group has featured several popular works by sculptor Seward Johnson on the Plaza at 401 North Michigan, and on Monday his monumental scale sculpture, “Return Visit,” of Abe Lincoln was removed from the plaza. It will now be placed at the Peoria Riverfront Museum in Peoria, IL. Other art works by Johnson, most notably “Forever Marilyn” and “God Bless America,” have been placed by Zeller on the plaza. Company officials say they want to encourage artistic expression and provide public space for large-scale sculptures.

DEALTRACKER

CHICAGO—Savills Studley recently completed a 26,502-square-foot lease on behalf of River North Gym at 600 West Chicago Ave. This location will serve as RNG's first expansion will complement the company's flagship club within the Merchandise Mart. “RNG is a fast-growing Chicago business known for the high quality user experience it offers customers and its value as an amenity within the Merchandise Mart,” says Savills Studley assistant director Patrick Brady, who represented RNG in this transaction. “In consideration of RNG's reputation in Chicago and the company's vision for a unique millennial-focused user experience at this location, we were able to negotiate an extremely favorable lease for our client and beat out larger national chains seeking to occupy this premium space.” As reported in GlobeSt.com, in 2016 the building reached 100% occupancy.

BUILDING BLOCKS

CINCINNATI—Officials from Hillwood, a Perot company, and their partner, Cincinnati-based developer and design-builder Al. Neyer, say they will soon break ground on the Erlanger Commerce Center, a state-of-the-art distribution center in Erlanger, KY. The two speculative buildings, totaling more than 1.7 million square feet, will be at the intersection of I-75 and I-275 and just a few miles from the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport in Hebron, KY. “We have seen substantial growth in the Tri-State area of Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana,” says Kurt Nelson, Hillwood's senior vice president and market leader. “The industrial activity in this area is driven by a strong transportation infrastructure and healthy workforce. That makes it an attractive location for major manufacturing and logistics companies.” As reported in GlobeSt.com, the region's industrial vacancy rate, especially among distribution buildings on the KY side, has dropped to a historic low. Construction on Building 1, totaling 779,922 square feet with 36' clear height, will begin in 2018.

BY THE NUMBERS

COLUMBUS—Research by CBRE finds that the Midwest tech markets boast some of the lowest living expenses in the country. According to CBRE Research's 2017 Scoring Tech Talent Report, four of the six most affordable tech markets to live in are located in the Midwest. This is based on the rent-to-tech wage ratio. In addition to that, those six cities (Indianapolis, Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati, St. Louis, and Kansas City) are among the top ten markets for the most affordable apartment rents.

NEWS & NOTABLES

INDIANAPOLIS—Yesterday, MONEY magazine released its 2017 list of the 100 Best Places to Live in America, and Fishers, IN, a suburb of Indianapolis, was chosen for the top spot. Realtor.com provided data on housing markets for the study. In addition to a strong entrepreneurial culture, Fishers, a town of about 86,000 located just 16 miles from the city, also has major corporations such as student loan provider Navient and Roche Diagnostics. And major redevelopment projects for its downtown totaling $90 million have made Fishers even more attractive to businesses. Moody's Analytics projects 11.6% job growth in the city by 2021, according to MONEY. Stanley Security just relocated its headquarters to Fishers in August, bringing 350 jobs with it, while high-tech company Memory Ventures moved to Fishers from California in 2015. As reported in GlobeSt.com, the town also has a vibrant multifamily market.

CLARENDON HILLS, IL—LM Commercial Real Estate has just hired three new commercial brokers: Ann Kelly Heitner, Richard Schneider and Richard Bowen. Heitner specializes in office and retail properties, Schneider on urban industrial and transitional infill properties. Bowen is a retail leasing specialist. Heitner joins the LM team from Oak Park Avenue Realty, where she was realtor relationship coordinator/broker. Schneider was president and owner of Supreme Novelty Fabrics. Bowden joins LM after serving as the local leasing representative for GK Development, Inc. LM Commercial Real Estate originally specialized in the Chicago area's southwest suburbs and Northwest Indiana and has been expanding its brokerage and development operations to reach both a wider geographic area as well as provide more extensive coverage in all property sectors. “With the addition of Ann, Richard and Rich, LM expands our reach and broadens our ability to more effectively meet client needs,” says Tad Lagestee, president and co-founder of LM Commercial Real Estate. “We look forward to continuing our company's growth and expansion in these important market sectors.”

CHICAGO—Zeller Realty Group has featured several popular works by sculptor Seward Johnson on the Plaza at 401 North Michigan, and on Monday his monumental scale sculpture, “Return Visit,” of Abe Lincoln was removed from the plaza. It will now be placed at the Peoria Riverfront Museum in Peoria, IL. Other art works by Johnson, most notably “Forever Marilyn” and “God Bless America,” have been placed by Zeller on the plaza. Company officials say they want to encourage artistic expression and provide public space for large-scale sculptures.

DEALTRACKER

CHICAGO—Savills Studley recently completed a 26,502-square-foot lease on behalf of River North Gym at 600 West Chicago Ave. This location will serve as RNG's first expansion will complement the company's flagship club within the Merchandise Mart. “RNG is a fast-growing Chicago business known for the high quality user experience it offers customers and its value as an amenity within the Merchandise Mart,” says Savills Studley assistant director Patrick Brady, who represented RNG in this transaction. “In consideration of RNG's reputation in Chicago and the company's vision for a unique millennial-focused user experience at this location, we were able to negotiate an extremely favorable lease for our client and beat out larger national chains seeking to occupy this premium space.” As reported in GlobeSt.com, in 2016 the building reached 100% occupancy.

BUILDING BLOCKS

CINCINNATI—Officials from Hillwood, a Perot company, and their partner, Cincinnati-based developer and design-builder Al. Neyer, say they will soon break ground on the Erlanger Commerce Center, a state-of-the-art distribution center in Erlanger, KY. The two speculative buildings, totaling more than 1.7 million square feet, will be at the intersection of I-75 and I-275 and just a few miles from the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport in Hebron, KY. “We have seen substantial growth in the Tri-State area of Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana,” says Kurt Nelson, Hillwood's senior vice president and market leader. “The industrial activity in this area is driven by a strong transportation infrastructure and healthy workforce. That makes it an attractive location for major manufacturing and logistics companies.” As reported in GlobeSt.com, the region's industrial vacancy rate, especially among distribution buildings on the KY side, has dropped to a historic low. Construction on Building 1, totaling 779,922 square feet with 36' clear height, will begin in 2018.