Middle Market Digest-The Midwest

BY THE NUMBERS

CHICAGO—The largest distribution buildings are the ones most in demand, according to the latest report on the Chicago region’s big box sector by Colliers International. The vacancy rate is the highest among big box buildings 200,000 to 499,999 square feet, at 11.38%. By contrast, the vacancy rate is 7.22% for buildings 500,000 to 749,999 square feet, and just 6.77% for buildings greater than 750,000 square feet. The greatest amount of big box product and the most development has occurred in the I-55 Corridor and I-80 Joliet Corridor submarkets, where the vacancy rate is 11.72% and 10.38%, respectively – well above the overall big box vacancy rate of 9.23%.

NEWS & NOTABLES

CHICAGO—A joint venture of Chicago-based Structured Development and Carly Partners LLC has retained CBRE Group Inc., to market more than 76,000 square feet of retail space at Sheridan Crossing, a planned 37-acre mixed-use development across from the Naval Station Great Lakes in North Chicago, IL. Mary Bresnahan, CBRE vice president, and Kim McGuire, senior vice president, will lead marketing efforts for the project at the corner of Sheridan Rd. and Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. A 107-room limited-service hotel and a 10-screen movie theater will anchor the multi-phase development, comprising a total of more than 260,000 square feet. “The national retailers that already have expressed interest would offer the community experiences currently unavailable in the immediate area,” says Jeff Berta, senior director of real estate development at Structured Development. “In retaining CBRE, we’re confident we will be able to build on this momentum and move one step closer to realizing our vision for this first-of-its-kind project.”

DEALTRACKER

CHICAGO—Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, LP just arranged $56.5 million in financing for Willow Crossing, a 579-unit, multi-housing community in the northwest Chicago suburb of Elk Grove Village. The HFF team worked on behalf of The Marquette Cos. to secure the five-year, floating-rate loan through Wells Fargo. Loan proceeds were used to acquire the property and include a future-funding component that the borrower will use to revitalize the well-located asset. The development consists of 14 buildings in a park-like setting. The HFF debt placement team representing the borrower included managing director Matthew Schoenfeldt. “Lenders recognized Willow Crossing as a genuine diamond in the rough,” Schoenfeldt says. “This factor, combined with Marquette’s masterful value-creation strategy, allowed us to generate multiple aggressive loan proposals.” As reported in GlobeSt.com, in 2013 Berkadia Commercial Mortgage LLC closed $43.5 million in financing through Fannie Mae for the acquisition of Willow Crossing by Steadfast Income REIT.

BUILDING BLOCKS

CANTON, OH—On Wednesday, May 30th, Industrial Commercial Properties LLC, a Cleveland-based developer, broke ground on a new headquarters and distribution center for ComDoc, a subsidiary of Global Imaging Systems, a Xerox company. The 107,500-square-foot building sits on 12 acres on Pittsburg Ave. in Stark County near Canton, OH. It will include 32,500 square feet of office and 75,000 square feet of distribution space. Upon completion in Spring of 2019, ComDoc will consolidate four NE OH facilities and approximately 285 jobs into one location. ICP has engaged M.E. Osborne Building Co. as the general contractor. “Consolidating four of their locations helps them streamline operations and enhance their distribution process, while increasing cost efficiencies,” says Christopher Semarjian, the owner of ICP.