CHICAGO—Direct vacancy in the downtown's 30 newest class A office towers has increased by 71 bps to 12.1%, according to a new market report by MB Real Estate. Meanwhile, the CBD direct vacancy rate increased to 12.3% at the end of the fourth quarter of 2017, a 20 bp increase from the third quarter. MBRE attributes the rate increases to the recent openings of 150 N. Riverside and 444 W. Lake. 515 N. State once again has the highest vacancy rate at 65% after Outcome Health's 394,000 square foot lease was terminated. The owner agreed to terminate Outcome Health's lease due to the significant challenges the company is facing after highly publicized fraud allegations were made against them in October.

NEWS & NOTABLES

CHICAGO—Christine McDermott has joined the Chicago office of Colliers International as director of marketing. She will spearhead the strategic development and implementation of marketing campaigns, in support of business development goals, for the local offices and their service lines. Prior to joining Colliers, McDermott was the corporate marketing director at CenterPoint Properties where she oversaw the development of the company marketing strategy, which included the repositioning of the brand across the company's portfolio of 300 plus industrial facilities. She began her real estate career with CBRE in 2011 as a communications specialist and rose through the ranks to business development manager.

DEALTRACKER

MINNEAPOLIS—Deb Carlson, a senior director at Cushman & Wakefield, represented landlord EBL-S in negotiations for a new 38,000 square foot TJ Maxx/HomeGoods combination store at Grove Plaza. The new store will sit just east of a 95,700 square foot Hy-Vee grocery store which opened in 2017. Grove Plaza is located in the southeast quadrant of the Hwy. 61/Hwy. 10 and 80^th St, South intersection in Cottage Grove, MN. The new store is part of an ongoing repositioning of Grove Plaza, former home to a Home Depot store and a Rainbow Foods-anchored shopping center. Both had been closed, and through a series of transactions including HyVee, the City of Cottage Grove, Merchants Bank and EBL-S, the property has been divided up and redeveloped. TJ Maxx/HomeGoods anticipates a 2018 fall opening. EBL-S is in negotiations for additional national retailers to join Grove Plaza.

ELK GROVE VILLAGE, IL—Brown Commercial Group, based in Elk Grove Village, IL, has negotiated the sale of three Chicago suburban industrial investment buildings, totaling 136,915 square feet. Dan Brown, president of Brown Commercial Group, was the sole broker on all transactions. Two of the buildings are located in Elk Grove Village, while the third is in Gilberts, IL. Each of the buildings is a fully leased multi-tenant space. The sales price for all three buildings was $7 million. The buyer on all properties was Gilberts and Groves LLC. “In today's tightening industrial market, there is a shortage of midsized suburban buildings for sale,” says Brown. “We were able to identify three buildings that fit the investor's goals for income generation and long-term growth potential.” The buildings are: 1340-1400 Higgins Rd. in Elk Grove Village, IL; 1425-1455 Tonne Rd. in Elk Grove Village; 300-338 Arrowhead Dr. in Gilberts.

CHICAGO—Goodman Manufacturing, a member of Daikin Industries, Ltd., has signed a leased for 21,000 square feet at Dayton Street Partners' newest development, 4150 N. Knox on Chicago's North Side. Goodman, which already has space at 815 W. Pershing, another Dayton property, will expand its presence in Chicago with the lease, using its new space for a showroom, training center and distribution hub. “We are elated that Goodman has chosen our property,” says Howard Wedren, Dayton Street's managing principal. “This facility offers them an ideal location to reach their customer base while providing a convenient location for its employees.” Dayton Street Partners completed construction on the 41,000-square-foot warehouse/distribution center in late 2017. The modern facility features 30' clear ceiling height, six docks, four drive-in doors and T8 lighting. The building is located just one block from I-90, CTA's NAME L stop and the Metra, and provides parking for 50 vehicles. The Chicago-based commercial real estate investment and development firm purchased the 1.6-acre vacant parcel in 2015. Colliers International I Chicago's Mike Senner and Steve Kohn represented Dayton Street in the lease.