CHICAGO—CA Ventures has just hired Nishant Bakaya as its chief investment officer. In his new role, Bakaya will lead the Chicago-based company's investment management team, helping to direct its strategy across several asset classes, including student housing, senior housing, residential and hospitality. “Nishant has served as a trusted strategic adviser to CA Ventures for several years, and his proven ability to source and execute large, complex investments and manage institutional capital will prove invaluable,” says Tom Scott, chief executive officer. Bakaya, 41, joins CA Ventures from Evercore Partners, where he was co-head of real estate private capital. Prior to that, he worked at UBS Investment Bank and JP Morgan. Over the course of his career, Bakaya has been involved in over $100 billion of real estate transactions across the senior housing, student housing, hospitality, multifamily and retail asset classes. He most recently advised CA Ventures on its $660 million joint venture for student housing with QuadReal Property Group and GI Partners.

CHICAGO—The Chicago Tribune has awarded a 2017 Top Workplace honor to Draper and Kramer, Incorporated, a Chicago-based real estate firm. The annual list is based on results of an employee feedback survey, administered by an independent research firm, that evaluates workplace culture. “As a family-owned company, we take tremendous pride in providing a progressive corporate environment that prioritizes support, training and professional development opportunities for all employees,” says Forrest Bailey, chief executive officer of Draper and Kramer, which also includes residential mortgage division Draper and Kramer Mortgage Corp. And this honor was particularly rewarding “since the judges were our own employees.” Honored in the category of midsize workplaces, Draper and Kramer is one of just a handful of real estate firms named to the list.

DEALTRACKER

WEST LAFAYETTE, IN—Berkadia has just helped complete the sale of Franklin Park Apartments, located at 2407 Neil Armstrong Dr. in West Lafayette, IN. Chris Bruzas, Alex Blagojevich and Greg Gonzalez of Berkadia's Chicago office and Kevin Larimar of Berkadia's Detroit office negotiated the transaction. Franklin Park was sold by a private family out of Northern CA and bought by an affiliate of Birge & Held. Since 2008, the Indianapolis-based firm has acquired $500 million in multifamily assets, all operated by their management platform. “Franklin Park presented a great opportunity to renovate unit interiors and take the asset to the next level,” says Bruzas. The 168-unit asset sits next to the highly-traveled Sagamore Pkwy. just north of Purdue University, the second-largest university in the state.

ELGIN, IL—St. Charles Trading, Inc. has just purchased a 100,000-square-foot industrial facility at 1400 Madeline Ln. within Randall Point Business Park in Elgin, IL. Darwin Realty's Brendan J. Sheahan and Noel S. Liston represented the firm in the transaction. St. Charles Trading, currently located in Batavia, will use the new facility to consolidate and expand multiple suburban warehousing and production operations. “The current capital environment and strong investor demand have created a shortage of quality buildings available for owner-occupiers,” says Sheahan. “This institutional-grade facility was identified as a rare opportunity for our client and its expansion capabilities will serve their needs for many years to come.” The seller, Pancor Construction & Development, was represented by Mike Sedjo and Jack Brennan of CBRE.

NEWS & NOTABLES

CHICAGO—The Chicagoland Apartment Association gave RMK Management Corp. seven Chicagoland Apartment Marketing and Management Excellence awards at its 24^th annual CAMME Awards ceremony held on Nov. 2 at Chicago's Navy Pier. Presented in conjunction with the Chicago Tribune, the CAMME Awards honor companies and professionals that have made significant contributions to, or achieved excellence in, the multifamily housing industry. Chicago-based RMK was honored in multiple categories including maintenance, curb appeal, renovation and amenities. The local RMK-managed communities recognized were Versailles on the Lakes in Schaumburg for outstanding maintenance team and property excellence among low-rise/garden communities built between 1966-1993; The Residences at the Grove in Downers Grove for curb appeal; Dwell at Naperville in Naperville for outstanding exterior renovation; and The Residences at Hamilton Lakes in Itasca, which was honored for its amenity package among new low-rise/garden communities. Several other individuals with RMK were also recognized with awards, including Jesus Gallardo at Cook Apartments in Libertyville for maintenance professional and Bob Belpedio at Williams Reserve in Palatine for chief engineer/maintenance supervisor.

ELGIN, IL—RE/MAX, LLC, the global real estate franchisor, has signed an agreement to purchase the master franchise rights for the RE/MAX Northern Illinois Region, which includes Chicago. RE/MAX officials expect the acquisition, which includes nearly 2,300 agents and more than 100 offices, will close by the end of November. They consider acquiring independent regions a key piece of RE/MAX's growth strategy. Including Northern Illinois, the company has purchased the master franchise rights for seven independent regions – a total of more than 10,000 agents in nearly 600 offices — including AK, NY, NJ, GA, KY, TN and OH over the last two years. “RE/MAX Northern Illinois has had as an independent region for the past 16 years under regional owners Tom, Brian and Casey Reagan and their incredible staff,” says Adam Contos, RE/MAX co-chief executive officer. “They've attracted high-caliber agents and dominated metro market share for decades and we will work to continue that trend.”

CHICAGO—CA Ventures has just hired Nishant Bakaya as its chief investment officer. In his new role, Bakaya will lead the Chicago-based company's investment management team, helping to direct its strategy across several asset classes, including student housing, senior housing, residential and hospitality. “Nishant has served as a trusted strategic adviser to CA Ventures for several years, and his proven ability to source and execute large, complex investments and manage institutional capital will prove invaluable,” says Tom Scott, chief executive officer. Bakaya, 41, joins CA Ventures from Evercore Partners, where he was co-head of real estate private capital. Prior to that, he worked at UBS Investment Bank and JP Morgan. Over the course of his career, Bakaya has been involved in over $100 billion of real estate transactions across the senior housing, student housing, hospitality, multifamily and retail asset classes. He most recently advised CA Ventures on its $660 million joint venture for student housing with QuadReal Property Group and GI Partners.

CHICAGO—The Chicago Tribune has awarded a 2017 Top Workplace honor to Draper and Kramer, Incorporated, a Chicago-based real estate firm. The annual list is based on results of an employee feedback survey, administered by an independent research firm, that evaluates workplace culture. “As a family-owned company, we take tremendous pride in providing a progressive corporate environment that prioritizes support, training and professional development opportunities for all employees,” says Forrest Bailey, chief executive officer of Draper and Kramer, which also includes residential mortgage division Draper and Kramer Mortgage Corp. And this honor was particularly rewarding “since the judges were our own employees.” Honored in the category of midsize workplaces, Draper and Kramer is one of just a handful of real estate firms named to the list.

DEALTRACKER

WEST LAFAYETTE, IN—Berkadia has just helped complete the sale of Franklin Park Apartments, located at 2407 Neil Armstrong Dr. in West Lafayette, IN. Chris Bruzas, Alex Blagojevich and Greg Gonzalez of Berkadia's Chicago office and Kevin Larimar of Berkadia's Detroit office negotiated the transaction. Franklin Park was sold by a private family out of Northern CA and bought by an affiliate of Birge & Held. Since 2008, the Indianapolis-based firm has acquired $500 million in multifamily assets, all operated by their management platform. “Franklin Park presented a great opportunity to renovate unit interiors and take the asset to the next level,” says Bruzas. The 168-unit asset sits next to the highly-traveled Sagamore Pkwy. just north of Purdue University, the second-largest university in the state.

ELGIN, IL—St. Charles Trading, Inc. has just purchased a 100,000-square-foot industrial facility at 1400 Madeline Ln. within Randall Point Business Park in Elgin, IL. Darwin Realty's Brendan J. Sheahan and Noel S. Liston represented the firm in the transaction. St. Charles Trading, currently located in Batavia, will use the new facility to consolidate and expand multiple suburban warehousing and production operations. “The current capital environment and strong investor demand have created a shortage of quality buildings available for owner-occupiers,” says Sheahan. “This institutional-grade facility was identified as a rare opportunity for our client and its expansion capabilities will serve their needs for many years to come.” The seller, Pancor Construction & Development, was represented by Mike Sedjo and Jack Brennan of CBRE.