CHICAGO—Users keep demanding smart buildings, and JLL has decided to bring in more technology talent. Dan Burns has just joined the firm as senior vice president, technology strategy director for its Smart Building Program. Burns brings 25 years of knowledge and experience in information technology, building automation and Internet of Things. He will oversee the technology and integration strategy to enable productive and profitable workplaces. “In the rapidly changing world of real estate technology, IoT and big data, new solutions are continually disrupting the industry,” says Darlene Pope, executive vice president and global practice lead for the JLL smart building program. Burns, an experienced Fortune 100 company executive, joins JLL from Philips Lighting, where he led a team of solution architects and services managers.

DEALTRACKER

CHICAGO—Real estate firm Draper and Kramer, Inc. says it has successfully brought the city's first Culver's to its Lake Meadows Market retail center in Chicago's Bronzeville neighborhood. The restaurant's grand opening was celebrated during a Jan. 23 ribbon-cutting with franchise owner Baron Waller, Craig Culver, Culver's co-founder, Joe Koss, Culver's president and chief executive officer, and 4^th Ward Ald. Sophia King. It's just the latest addition to Lake Meadows Market as part of Chicago-based Draper and Kramer's multi-phase redevelopment of the retail center located at 35^th St. and King Dr. Phase I of the project, which added a new 40,000-square-foot LA Fitness and renovated existing retail space, was completed in late 2015. Phase 2 will ultimately bring 11,500 square feet of additional retail space to the shopping center to house new tenants including Culver's, and will also entail façade updates to an existing wing of the center.

CICERO, IL—Bridge Development Partners just signed a long-term lease with an undisclosed tenant for 323,343 square feet at its 1543 S. 54^th Ave. in Cicero, IL. Mitch Adams, George Maragos and Nicole Mentone of CBRE represented Bridge in the transaction. The tenant was represented by CBRE's Pete Roberson from its Chicago office and Eric Steiner and Mike Cook from its Indianapolis office. Bridge Point 290 launched in June of 2017 and the company will complete it in February. The new tenant, which will occupy its space in September, will lease the entire development. Bridge Point 290 has 36' clear ceilings, 50 docks, 77 trailer positions and parking for 273 cars. “The tenant's lease and commitment before the spec building was complete indicates demand remains strong for class A facilities and infill sites in the near West and Southwest Suburban market, along with the City of Chicago,” says Maragos.

TOLEDO, OH—Uber Capital Group, LLC has sourced a $15 million, five-year term permanent acquisition loan for the $21 million purchase of The Shops at Fallen Timbers in Maumee, OH, a Toledo suburb. The client was a private national commercial real estate investment group, which purchased the property from GGP, Inc. Uber sourced the financing from an OH-based bank. This transaction brings Uber's total transactional value of recently arranged commercial real estate loans to over $100 million. National real estate investor Joel J. Gorjian established Great Neck, NY-based Uber in late 2016. “We have obtained the loan for The Shops at Fallen Timbers acquisition despite a very challenging retail lending environment, especially for a such large transaction,” he says. “The deal was further complicated by the short-term leases for the mall's anchor tenants and the uncertain future of the retail industry.”

STURTEVANT, WI—Senior managing directors Sergio Chapa and Michael Prost of Newmark Knight Frank, in cooperation with senior managing director Corey Chase, have recently represented Venture One Real Estate in its successful purchase of 7601 Durand Ave. in Sturtevant, WI. Subsequently, NKF was appointed the exclusive broker in the sale or lease offering of the same property, the largest available warehouse in Racine County, on behalf of new ownership. “The 350,274-square-foot warehouse is situated on 23 acres, or approximately one million square feet, offering substantial room for growth, if needed,” says Chase. “Furthermore, Venture One and future users will also benefit from the low real estate taxes and proximity to I-94.” Venture One has plans to renovate 7601 Durand, including renovations in the office and 24' clear warehouse space including a new roof, docks, and parking lot repairs.

BUILDING BLOCKS

CHICAGO—CA Senior Living LLC, the senior housing investment and development division of Chicago-based CA Ventures, has started construction on Atria at River Trail, a 128-unit senior living community at the corner of Washington St. and Royce Rd. in Bolingbrook, IL. Located next to DuPage River Park at 350 N. Weber Rd., the $37 million development will offer a mix of private and shared assisted living apartments and memory care studios with views of the adjacent parks and fields. Louisville-based Atria Senior Living will operate the community, which will open in late summer 2018. Atria operates independent living, assisted living, supportive living and memory care communities in roughly 200 locations across the US and Canada, including two near Chicago: Atria Park of Glen Ellyn and The Solana Deer Park. Construction is also underway on a third community, Atria Glenview, in Glenview.