Monthly Archives: April 2014

Bradford Allen Suburban Team Negotiates Multiple Leases

Published April 25, 2014

CHICAGO –   Bradford Allen Realty Services’ suburban tenant representation team has arranged several leases throughout the first quarter in the Chicagoland suburban office market.    Senior managing director Joel Berger, director John Millner, director Ryan Moen and associate C.J. Riccardi have negotiated leases on behalf of five new clients.

VHT Inc., a full service provider of Visual Marketing Services designed for the Real Estate Industry, has leased 8,807 square feet of office space at 6400 Shafer Court in Rosemont.  The firm, represented by both Berger and Ricardi, is relocating from 9500 Bryn Mawr Avenue.  Zachary Fox, an associate with Transwestern, represented the landlord, Crossroads Development.

Bloomington-based Mortgage Services III, LLC (MSI), a subsidiary of First State Bank Member FDIC, downsized their Oakbrook location at 17W662 Butterfield Road.  Both Berger and Moen represented the firm in a new 5,947 square foot lease in the building.

Additionally, the suburban tenant representation team has completed leases on behalf of:

  • Radware Inc. – in a new lease at 377 E Butterfield Rd in Lombard. Represented by both Berger and Millner.
  • Innovative Hearing Solutions (SONUS) – in a new lease at 7001 Cermak Rd in Berwyn. Represented by Millner.
  • Banner Personnel Services, Inc. – in a renewal and expansion at 1717 N Naper Blvd. in Naperville. Represented by both Millner and Moen.
  • Homer Chastain & Associates – in a new lease at 120 Center Court in Schaumburg . Represented by Berger.

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

Published April 25, 2014

Tom’s Recommended Reading for the Week

Eventful week in Chicago as summer approaches. Check out our top Chicago commercial real estate articles before heading into the weekend!

  1. 14 Ways the Workplace is Evolving  – Mobility versus routine. Distraction versus focus. Command-and-control management versus employee choice. As corporate cultural battles play out, workplaces have become the battleground, with outcomes increasingly dependent on worker engagement, health, well-being and a sense of belonging or purpose. The following are 14 workplace trends reshaping corporate cultures in 2014 and beyond… Globe St.
  2. How Your Office Is Harming Your Health  – Many of us spend a large chunk of our waking lives at work, but rarely do we give much thought to how our on-the-clock environment might be affecting how we feel around the clock. If the recent literature has anything to say about it, working in offices could be making us feel pretty crappy. Open office plans (and cubicles, to a certain extent) may be the worst offenders when it comes to harming employee wellness and productivity, and some studies on the fallbacks of the popular design have called the entire structure of American work life into question… Huffington Post
  3. More Metrics Needed for Medical Office Buildings Sector – Medical office buildings (MOBs) are starting to overtake hospitals as the preferred new property type for health care systems, but real estate market statistics for MOBs are still lumped into the broader health care category, making data and trends hard to obtain for newcomer investors. The traditional MOB is now evolving into more of a full-service, ambulatory care model that is causing hospitals to distribute resources differently and re-examine expenditures, especially when it comes to real estate decisions. Two recent reports have detailed the need for hospitals and health care systems to be more aware of modern customer needs for local comprehensive care facilities… NREI
  4. Office Recovery Hits Halfway Point as Demand for Space Spreads Across More U.S. Markets  –The U.S. office recovery continued to hum quietly along in the first quarter, absent any dramatic surges or spikes. As a result of the measured pace of increasing tenant demand, the national office vacancy rate remained unchanged from the previous quarter at 11.9%, according to CoStar’s First Quarter 2014 Office Review and Outlook. Overall net absorption of U.S. office space is running ahead of last year’s pace with 74 million square feet absorbed over the last 12 months, compared with 61 million square feet during the previous year period through first-quarter 2013… CoStar
  5. John Buck moves in on struggling Loop office tower – John Buck Co., best known for developing trophy office towers on Wacker Drive, is about to take control of a vintage Loop building that’s been reeling since the city of Chicago vacated nearly a third of it last year. Chicago-based Buck is in advanced talks to assume ownership of the Class B structure at 33 N. LaSalle St. for less than the remaining debt on the 38-story art deco tower, according to people familiar with the transaction. The building’s owners, Chicago-based Golub & Co. and German shipping and real estate firm Norddeutsche Vermogen, owed nearly $42.5 million when they negotiated a loan modification in December 2012 with New York-based AXA Equitable Life Insurance Co., according to Cook County records… Crain’s Chicago
 

Chicago Commercial Real Estate – In the News

Published April 18, 2014

Tom’s Recommended Reading for the Week

The NHL playoff season has begun. Lets go Blackhawks!! Check out our top Chicago Commercial Real Estate articles as you head into the weekend.

  1. Duchossois family plans Oak Brook office development  – A venture of the Duchossois family bought four no-frills office buildings in Oak Brook that it may tear down for an office development of at least 200,000 square feet. The real estate arm of Elmhurst-based Duchossois Group Inc., known for a variety of investments including horse racetracks such as Churchill Downs and garage door opener company Chamberlain Group Inc., acquired the adjacent buildings March 31, a spokeswoman confirmed… Crain’s Chicago
  2. Investor Mizrachi looks to build one West Loop tower, sell another – Florida investor Joseph Mizrachi wants to build a hotel and office tower in the West Loop while selling an office building several blocks away that he hopes will attract offers of $335 million or more. Mr. Mizrachi plans a nearly 1.1 million-square-foot hotel and office tower on land at Jefferson and Madison streets, according to people familiar with his plans. He and New York investor David Werner took over the parcel through their $350 million acquisition in late 2012 of 540 W. Madison St., the office building next door… Crain’s Chicago
  3. Using Collaborative Office Strategies – Corporate users across the metro area have begun transforming their offices into more collaborative, wide-open spaces, and many more have become intrigued by the trend. But experts say before a proper transformation takes place, designers need to have a lot of interaction with workers.“I would sit on the floor with groups of employees,” Debbie Fangman, facility manager for Gogo, told a panel discussion group on Thursday, and stay there asking questions until she understood “how they deal with the obstacles in our current system… Globe St.
  4. Tech’s Impact on Office Leasing  – Greater digitalization, tighter cubicle spaces, more freedom for collaboration and the disappearance of the Baby Boom generation. All of these factors are changing the way corporate America works…and will ultimately impact how commercial office brokers and developers ply their trades. So says Beth Campbell, principal and managing director in the local office of architecture and design giant Gensler. “People are signing 10, 15 even 20-year leases,” she says. “But how will the office technology look then? There is a challenge in this system… Globe St.
  5. Thinking About Office Development: Consider These Submarkets – If you’re thinking about building office space in this cycle, you’d better dust off those blueprints and get back into the game soon, before it’s too late. The office cycle is about halfway through the recovery phase: Demand continues to rise and is expected to peak by 2015-16. Supply remains mostly concentrated in a handful of markets, rent growth finally cracked the 3% level last year, and NOI growth should return in 2014. All this means that projects kicking up dirt this year will deliver — and more importantly, stabilize — just in time, before fundamentals unwind… CoStar
 

Chicago Commercial Real Estate – In the News

Published April 11, 2014

Tom’s Recommended Reading for the Week

It looks like Chicago has finally decided that it’s time for spring and great weather! Check out the top news in the Chicago Commercial Real Estate Industry before heading into the weekend and happy Friday!

  1. Office Market Continues to Gain Momentum – First quarter office sector studies show that in most of the nation’s office markets, rather than just in the top cities, landlords are gaining the upper hand.About 70 percent of U.S. office markets reported occupancy gains during the first quarter, according to commercial real estate services firm Cassidy Turley. The markets absorbed 12 million sq. ft. collectively from January through March 2014, up 63 percent from the first quarter of 2013… NREI 
  2. How workplace design looks to Groupon, Gogo and Herman Miller – Collaboration areas, whiteboard walls and spaces for private conversation drive workplace design at Groupon and Gogo, company officials said at a panel discussion Thursday.Even amid fast growth, Chicago-based Groupon stuck to workbench-style seating to foster collaboration. Gogo, an inflight Internet provider that is about to move to River West from Itasca, said its new space will be designed around employee needs… Chicago Tribune
  3. Small leases, big office vacancy in suburbs – After opening 2014 with just one lease larger than 50,000 square feet, landlords in suburban Chicago are back to where they were a year earlier.Lacking large new deals, overall suburban vacancy ticked up a notch during the first quarter of the year to 24.4 percent, the same as it was a year earlier, according to Chicago-based Jones Lang LaSalle Inc… Crain’s Chicago
  4. CareerBuilder consolidates LaSalle Street offices – CareerBuilder LLC is merging one of its Loop offices into a neighboring tower, boosting the size of its Chicago headquarters as parent Tribune Co. prepares to split its business lines.The Chicago-based job search website is adding 47,466 square feet to its headquarters at 200 N. LaSalle St... Crain’s Chicago
  5. Add $45 million Buffalo Grove deal to Florida investor’s office spree – A Florida buyer is set to pay about $45 million for a 12-story Buffalo Grove office tower, continuing an aggressive initial push into the Chicago area.Beacon Investment Properties LLC, which hadn’t invested in Chicago until late 2013, plans to buy Riverwalk II… Crain’s Chicago
 

First Quarter 2014 Chicago Downtown Office Market Report

Published April 8, 2014

Outside Corporations and Technology Tenants Continue to See Value in Chicago CBD

Overall conditions in the CBD office market tightened during the 1st quarter as certain economic indicators improved. Although GDP growth for the U.S. is slow, the country’s unemployment rate has continued to drop. Chicago’s fell to 9.9% in February – the lowest since February 2009. While this rate is relatively high compared to New York City and other metros; it’s still a good sign for Chicago’s economy. This translated into CBD vacancy and availability decreasing year over year from 13.9% to 13.5% and 18.1% to 17.3%, respectively.

Read Full Market Report Here

 

Chicago Commercial Real Estate – In the News

Published April 4, 2014

Tom’s Recommended Reading for the Week

Baseball season has finally started! Too bad the Cubs and White Sox didn’t bring the warm weather back with them from Spring Training. Enjoy these Chicago Commercial Real Estate news articles and have a great weekend!

  1. 2014 Top Brokers – It was another year of robust growth for commercial real estate brokerage firms. Increases in investment sales and leasing activity enabled many of the firms on our list to grow their transaction volumes by 15 percent or more, with some firms experiencing particularly robust growth rates.The top dog on our list remains CBRE Group Inc. It is the 11th consecutive year that CBRE has lead the industry in total transaction volume. The firm reported a total volume of $233.30 billion in 2013, a 17.7 percent increase over 2012’s figure of $189.80 billion… NREI 
  2. After eight-year hiatus, Japanese return to downtown office market  –  A subsidiary of Tokyo-based conglomerate Sumitomo Corp. has paid $111.5 million for a downtown office tower, the first such acquisition by a Japanese investor in eight years. New York-based Sumitomo Corp. of Americas, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Japanese firm, acquired the 581,107-square-foot office portion of the 27-story tower at 203 N. LaSalle St. yesterday, confirmed Tomonori Wada, a senior vice president who oversees the Sumitomo group that includes real estate, food and tire businesses… Crain’s Chicago
  3. Growth Is Picking Up In U.S. Office Market – The U.S. office market is showing signs of picking up steam, with businesses adding space in the first quarter at the fastest pace since 2007, according to a report from real-estate data firm Reis Inc. The amount of occupied office space grew by 9.8 million square feet in the first three months of the year, up from 9 million square feet in the fourth quarter of 2013 and an average of 5.2 million square feet a quarter between 2011 and 2013, according to Reis…         Wall Street Journal
  4. Chicago Lays Out a Complex Plan for the Future of the Fulton-Randolph Market Area – The future of the Fulton-Randolph Market District could well look back on its past. Representatives of the Chicago Department of Planning and Development described an ambitious plan for ongoing development of the district. That plan will pay respect to the feel of the district’s heritage, even down to the exterior building design and streetscapes... The Chicago Architecture Blog
  5. Top Commercial Real Estate Firms and Brokers in Chicago Win CoStar Power Broker Awards – The winners of the annual CoStar Power Broker Awards have been announced, and several top firms and real estate brokers in Chicago are among the winners. Recognizing the “best of the best” in commercial real estate brokerage, the CoStar Power Broker Awards are presented each year to a select group of local real estate firms and individual brokers who achieved the highest overall transaction volumes in commercial property sales and leases in their market during 2013… CoStar Group