Monthly Archives: January 2014

Bradford Allen Increases Occupancy at 79 W. Monroe and 209 W. Jackson

CHICAGO –  Bradford Allen Realty Services is pleased to announce that Managing Director Andrew DeMoss has completed 23 lease transactions on behalf of Detroit based, Farbman Group over the past twelve months at 79 West Monroe and 209 West Jackson. Bradford Allen has brought the two buildings’ occupancies to 98% and 84%, respectively.

“Ownership’s ability to do quick, hassle free deals at a competitive price point has triggered our success at both buildings,” said DeMoss. “This same model helped us raise occupancy to 98% at 216 West Jackson, a former Farbman property, before it sold earlier last year.”

Most recently, digital marketing agency, Brickfish signed a 12,770 square foot lease to occupy the entire third floor at 209 West Jackson. Danny Nikitas, Konstantine Sepsis, and Doug Noble of MB Real Estate represented Brickfish in the transaction. 209 West Jackson is a 12-story, 143,000 square foot, brick clad masonry building distinguished by its granite-faced bronze-highlighted columns and multi-colored terrazzo lobby.

79 West Monroe, a 200,000 square foot, 13 story structure located at Monroe and Clark Streets, recognized for its exterior aesthetics and landmark weather bell, added 14 tenants to their roster in 2013. Earlier this week, Total Support Solutions signed a 12,300 square foot lease to occupy the entire fifth floor. The tenant was represented by Shawn Sullivan of Macklin Advisors.

“Andy’s comprehensive leasing and marketing efforts and direct outreach to the brokerage community has helped to significantly increase these building’s occupancies,” added Jeffrey Bernstein, principal and co-founder of Bradford Allen who leads the firm’s growing agency practice.

Bradford Allen was appointed leasing agent of 209 West Jackson in 2012 and 79 West Monroe in 2011.  DeMoss exclusively represents building ownership along with Bradford Allen Associate, Grace Casella.

About Bradford Allen 
Bradford Allen Realty Services, a Chicago-based, national commercial real estate company provides a full array of brokerage services and expertise to entrepreneurial and corporate business entities as well as not-for-profit organizations.  The firm provides real estate strategy, advice, marketing, and transaction execution for occupiers, investors and owners of real estate. For more information please visit our website at www.bradfordallen.com.

 

Chicago Commercial Real Estate – In the News

Tom’s Recommended Reading for the Week

Looking for a quick glimpse into the Chicago commercial real estate world?  Our Research Associate, Tom Hanrahan will be sharing his picks for the week’s top CRE articles.   He’ll continue to update this with breaking news and feature stories for and about the commercial real estate industry.  Here are five to check out this weekend…

  1. Mart says goodbye to Google, but Moto move on track  – The Merchandise Mart has basked in the Google glow ever since the technology titan’s July 2012 announcement that its Motorola Mobility business was moving there from Libertyville. Now, on the eve of its move into 604,000 square feet of the hulking Art Deco building, the Mart’s owner and the rest of the River North neighborhood are left to wonder: Can there be a Google effect without Google Inc.?… Crain’s Chicago
  2. The Open-Office Trap – In 1973, my high school, Acton-Boxborough Regional, in Acton, Massachusetts, moved to a sprawling brick building at the foot of a hill. Inspired by architectural trends of the preceding decade, the classrooms in one of its wings didn’t have doors. The rooms opened up directly onto the hallway, and tidbits about the French Revolution, say, or Benjamin Franklin’s breakfast, would drift from one classroom to another. Distracting at best and frustrating at worst, wide-open classrooms went, for the most part, the way of other ill-considered architectural fads of the time, like concrete domes. (Following an eighty-million-dollar renovation and expansion, in 2005, none of the new wings at A.B.R.H.S. have open classrooms.) Yet the workplace counterpart of the open classroom, the open office, flourishes: some seventy per cent of all offices now have an open floor plan… The NewYorker 
  3. For U.S. Office Market, It Was a Very Good Year- Investors are cheering the gains in asset values seen during 2013 from a strengthening recovery in the U.S. office market, and looking forward to an even brighter 2014 as virtually all the important metrics that drive rent growth and property income are expected to continue to improve over the next 12 months.The robust office market performance was the highlight of the year-in-review analysis and forecast webinar presented by CoStar market experts Walter Page, director of office research; Hans Nordby, managing director and corporate officer, and Aaron Jodka, manager, U.S. market research… CoStar
  4. Lake Forest Office Building Catches Sam Zell’s eye – For the first time in seven years, real estate billionaire Sam Zell is a suburban Chicago landlord. A joint venture between Mr. Zell’s Equity Group Investments LLC and Chicago-based Fulcrum Asset Advisors LLC paid $13.1 million Jan. 16 for a 105,000-square-foot office building in north suburban Lake Forest that’s about one-quarter vacant, according to Lake County records… Crain’s Business Chicago
  5. Food Genius gets cooking with $1 million, move to West Loop – “I’d go for the breakfast dog,” Justin Massa says. Even though it’s noon, breakfast is still on the menu at Little Goat, Stephanie Izard’s restaurant in the far West Loop, where the specials are a dog wrapped in a pancake and topped with a fried egg, and the Bull’s eye french toast, which also is topped with an egg and fried chicken bits.“I have to admit I’ve eaten both,” he says of the breakfast dog and French Toast, and a number of other items on the menu… Crain’s Business Chicago
 

Bradford Allen Adds Three New Associates to Company Roster

Tenant representation practice continues to grow

CHICAGO –  Bradford Allen is pleased to announce that the firm has hired three new associates to join their tenant representation practice. The new team members will concentrate on business development, strategic planning and transaction management.  Max Malec, Cathriona McGuire and Reisha Vanterpool will specialize on the downtown Chicago office market.

Malec was most recently an account executive with O2Cool, a consumer and home goods firm in Chicago. He is a graduate of the University of Iowa and is a member of Young Office Brokers Association (YOBA) and Young Real Estate Professionals (YREP).

McGuire is a former lease administrator for LaSalle Solutions. She received both her Bachelor’s and Master’s degree from the University of Iowa. She is an active volunteer with the Special Olympics and serves as an auxiliary board member for SuperSibs.

Vanterpool joins Bradford Allen from Best Chicago Properties, where she served as a real estate consultant and broker. She was also previously employed as a sales associate for the Wit Hotel. She volunteers at the Lurie Children’s Hospital and for the nonprofit organization, Children with Hair Loss (CWHL). She is a graduate of the Illinois Institute of Art in Chicago.

“We are excited to add these three motivated professionals to our downtown team,” said Elbaum. “They are indicative of our continued growth throughout the Chicago marketplace.”

About Bradford Allen 
Bradford Allen Realty Services, a Chicago-based, national commercial real estate company provides a full array of brokerage services and expertise to entrepreneurial and corporate business entities as well as not-for-profit organizations.  The firm provides real estate strategy, advice, marketing, and transaction execution for occupiers, investors and owners of real estate. For more information please visit our website at www.bradfordallen.com.

 

Fourth Quarter 2013 Chicago Downtown Office Market Report

Overall Growth Stalls; Although West Loop, River North and Class C Space Tightens Up

Economic improvement in Chicago’s CBD office market continued slowly at the close of 2013. Uncertainty regarding interest rates and the effects of the Affordable Care Act continued to hamper momentum. Subject to these conditions, the Chicago CBD also improved slowly. Overall availability reached 16.4%, almost on par with last year’s 16.5%, and overall vacancy decreased to 12.5%, down slightly from 12.7% in 2012. Quarterly net absorption totaled -245,211 SF versus last year’s 298,126 SF, while yearly net absorption reached -17,920 SF compared to 794,398 SF in 2012. Although the business environment is improving overall, the trend to downsize square footage per employee and its effect on overall office size is a factor driving in negative net absorption for the year.

Read Full Market Report

 

Year-End 2013 Chicago Suburban Office Market Report

Chicago Suburban Year-End Market Report 2013

Class A Suburban Improvement Continues as Single-Tenant Listings Keep Vacancy High

Suburban availability and vacancy both rose YOY to end 2013 at 23.8% (up from 23.6%), and 18.6% (up from 17.3%), respectively. Although data suggest worsening conditions, Class A buildings and certain submarkets are improving. Availability and vacancy of Class A space in the Eastern East-West corridor both decreased, reaching 24.2% versus 29.3% of a year ago, and 20.5% versus 21.3% in 2012. The North Suburbs also continued to improve as availability and vacancy rates dropped to 18.8% from 19.2% and 12.2% from 13.4%, respectively. The Central-North micro market shows the lowest vacancy and availability of all the North Suburbs at 8.3% and 15.9%