COLUMBUS—The Columbus office of Lee & Associates has expanded by hiring four key agents. Rick Smith (pictured), Matt Byrne, Bob Lockett and Chip Sergakis, all formerly with Smith Realty Partners, have joined Lee & Associates – Columbus as executive vice president, vice presidents and senior associate, respectively. “We grew our brokerage revenue by 63% in 2017 and on top of that, we are now significantly expanding our agent count this month,” says Mike Spencer, principal broker in the Columbus office. Smith, a 32-year commercial real estate veteran, was the former president of SRP. Byrne, previously vice president of SRP, has more than 35 years in complex commercial brokerage and development experience. Lockett, a 30-year veteran and former vice president of SRP, has been intimately involved in office developments, major retail projects, light industrial parks, multi-family properties, and numerous investment opportunities. Sergakis started as an associate under the tutelage of Byrne and Lockett at SRP.

ST. LOUIS—Officials from Forum Studio, a wholly owned subsidiary of Chicago-based Clayco, announced this week they will merge with Bates, a technology and architecture firm, and form a new St. Louis-based company called BatesForum. Current Bates partners will own 50% of BatesForum and Clayco the other 50%. According to Clayco's Bob Clark, chairman and chief executive officer, “this is an incredible opportunity for the Bates and Forum teams to gain instant synergy in technology exchange, building talent and to partner with the Clayco companies' fully integrated delivery process.” St. Louis Business Journal ranks Forum Studio St. Louis' seventh largest architecture firm, and Bates the tenth. The new firm will be the largest and have more than 200 employees and more than 70 registered designers and architects with offices in St. Louis, Chicago, Springfield, MO, Bentonville, AR and San Francisco. Steve Warlick will be president and Kapil Khanna will be chief operating officer.

CHICAGO—Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, LP has completed the $159.2 million recapitalization of a fully leased, mission-critical 11-property industrial portfolio totaling 2.77 million square feet in Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, Minneapolis, Akron (pictured), and Cincinnati, Philadelphia, and Dallas. The HFF team represented the seller, a joint venture between Brennan Investment Group, Arch Street Capital Advisors, LLC and Gatehouse Financial Group Ltd., and the buyer, a new joint venture between Brennan and Saudi Arabia-based Sidra Capital. Additionally, working on behalf of the new owner, the HFF team secured and will service a 67% LTV, 10-year, fixed-rate loan with Goldman Sachs. The HFF debt and equity placement team included managing directors Claudio Sgobba, based in London, and Christopher Carroll, based in Chicago, and senior directors Robin Stolberg and Kurt Sarbaugh, based in Chicago, along with managing director Matthew Schoenfeldt, a licensed MI real estate broker, and managing director Jules Sherwood.

DEALTRACKER

INDIANAPOLIS—Onward Investors, a national commercial real estate investment and development firm, has sold College Park Plaza in Indianapolis for $16.35 million to Little Rock, AR-based Tempus Realty Partners. The five-story, 180,637-square-foot, class A office building is located at 8909 Purdue Rd. in northwest Indianapolis at the entrance of the cities of Carmel and Zionsville. Onward Investors bought College Park Plaza in February 2015. Following the purchase, Onward made improvements to the property that included site paving, lobby renovations with new furniture and artwork, a conference room center, kitchen, breakroom and Canteen micro market. Tenants that include Republic Airways Holdings, Inc., Bindley Capital Partners, LLC, and Sedgwick Claims Management Services, Inc. occupy 86% of the property. College Park Plaza features an average floor size of 37,000 square feet and 775 parking spaces.

ST. PAUL, MN—US Storage Centers, an owner/operator of self-storage facilities nationally, in partnership with Harrison Street Real Estate Capital, LLC, a real estate investment firm dedicated to the education, healthcare and storage sectors, announced this week that it has expanded into MN by acquiring two facilities in White Bear Lake and Lake Elmo. Both will be re-branded as US Storage Centers self-storage facilities. US Storage Centers acquired a 922-unit, 83,264-square-foot facility located at 1828 Buerkle Rd. in White Bear Lake. The company also acquired a 790-unit facility with 69,038 square feet of self-storage and 68,400 square feet of parking at 9200 Hudson Blvd. in Lake Elmo. Both facilities are located just minutes from major transportation corridors, providing convenient access from multiple communities.

WEST CHICAGO, IL—Newmark Knight Frank has successfully advised and represented Leslie's Poolmart, Inc. in renewing its 125,000-square-foot, long-term lease renewal at 320 Industrial Dr. in West Chicago. Founded in 1963 and headquartered in Phoenix, AZ, Leslie's Poolmart, Inc. is the world's largest retailer of swimming pool and spa supplies, services and repairs for both residential and commercial customers. Leslie's currently markets its products in 940+ store locations throughout 35 states, a nationwide mail-order catalog, and an internet e-commerce site. The company employs approximately 4,500 associates across the country during the high-season. Jerry Jacobs, NKF's Phoenix-based executive managing director, represented Leslie's Poolmart, Inc. nationally, while Adam Marshall, senior managing director, and Mark Deady, a Chicago-based director, advised locally. David Prell of CBRE represented landlord Colony NorthStar, Inc. in the transaction.

SIOUX CITY, IA—Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, LP has completed the sale of Lakeport Commons, a 282,708-square-foot, open-air regional power center in Sioux City, IA. Completed in 2005, Lakeport Commons is 92% leased and home to national category-leading retailers, including Gordmans, Best Buy, Staples, Michaels, PetSmart, Old Navy, Party City, Shoe Carnival and Dress Barn. Additionally, Kohl's shadow anchors the property, and the Southern Hill Mall, which is the only enclosed regional shopping mall within 85 miles and attracts more than six million shoppers annually from three states, is adjacent to the center. The power center is located at 5101 Sergeant Rd. at the intersection of US Hwy. 20 and Sergeant Rd. The HFF team marketed the property for the seller, InvenTrust Properties Corp. The R.H. Johnson Co. purchased the asset. The HFF investment advisory team representing the seller included senior directors Amy Sands and Clinton Mitchell and managing director Jules Sherwood, a licensed IA real estate broker.