Monthly Archives: December 2014

Chicago Commercial Real Estate – In the News

Published December 19, 2014

Tom’s Recommended Reading for the Week

Check out the top Chicago commercial real estate news before heading into the weekend!

Cadence Health moving 170 jobs to Cantera in Warrenville – Cadence Health signed a nearly 55,000-square-foot lease in a west suburban office park to bring administrative staff closer to two of its cancer treatment centers. The Winfield-based health system in October signed the 54,798-square-foot lease at Keystone, a building at 4525 Weaver Parkway in the sprawling Cantera business park in Warrenville, according to CBRE Inc., which brokered the deal. Terms of the lease were not disclosed… Crain’s Chicago
Demand for Office Space Heats Up as FIRE Sectors Recover – Professional services that have traditionally led demand for office space, including finance, insurance and real estate, have finally made a comeback after a slump following the recession. Office market experts hope that the sectors, collectively referred to as FIRE, will now join with the tech and energy industries to heat up office demand in primary cities in 2015… NREI
Fulton Market landmark plan draws strong opposition – Opponents of the city’s plans to name the Fulton Market meatpacking area a historic district took their fight to City Hall on Wednesday, where they demanded Mayor Rahm Emanuel abandon the “forced landmarking” of their properties. Roger Romanelli, executive director of the Randolph Fulton Market Association, and about 20 critics of the proposed designation protested outside Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s office… Chicago Tribune
Prudential paying $370 million for 55 E. Monroe – Prudential Real Estate Investors agreed to pay more than $370 million for an East Loop office building, the latest deal in a memorable year for high-dollar sales downtown. The unit of the New Jersey-based financial services giant has a deal to buy the almost 1.3 million square feet of office and retail space at 55 E. Monroe St. for more than $290 a square foot… Crain’s Chicago
Why suburban companies like McDonald’s follow the siren call of downtown – The trend of suburban corporations adding satellite offices downtown has become super-sized. Oak Brook-based McDonald’s, the embodiment of the sprawling suburban office campus, disclosed plans Dec. 9 to open a River North office as soon as January. Following similar moves by behemoths such as Walgreen, Kraft Foods Group, Sears Holdings and Motorola Mobility, McDonald’s plan demonstrates the increasing importance large corporations are placing on downtown real estate in recruiting and retaining younger employees… Crain’s Chicago

Chicago Commercial Real Estate – In the News

Published December 12, 2014

Tom’s Recommended Reading for the Week

Check out the top Chicago commercial real estate news before heading into the weekend!

Chicago area’s bad real estate debt drops to lowest level since 2008 – Bankers who get paid to fix broken real estate loans may soon need to find a new line of work. The delinquency rate for bank loans on local income-producing properties dropped to 3.8 percent in the third quarter, down from 4 percent in the second quarter and 4.5 percent a year earlier, according to New York research firm Trepp… Crain’s Chicago
Global Investors Driving Chi. Office Market – Investors across the country and from around the world continue to find Chicago one of the most attractive markets in the US. That was proven yet again this week when Heitman bought 353 N. Clark St., a 46-story tower in the River North neighbourhood, after beating out a crowded field of investors. Cook County property records show that the company paid the seller, Tishman Speyer, $715 million for the 1.2-million-square-foot property, or roughly $609 per-square-foot, the second-highest ever paid for a Chicago office building… Globe St.
McD’s opening corporate office in River North – McDonald’s will open a corporate office in River North in the first quarter of 2015 in a play to recruit better tech talent, an executive said tonight. Some of the company’s growing digital strategy team, designers and business development employees are expected to move into the new office from corporate headquarters in Oak Brook, said Steve Easterbrook, senior executive vice president and global chief brand officer. “Having boots on the ground in the city is a huge opportunity for us,” Easterbrook said following an innovation event downtown… Crain’s Chicago
Full Service Brokers Give Tenants Best Deal – The debate over whether tenant-only brokerage firms are better for tenants flared recently with the release of a report that found full service firms will favor landlords over tenants when representing both in a deal. We looked at that report’s findings yesterday in this article – a report, it must be noted again, that was commissioned by Cresa. The actual study was conducted by George Washington University and Peter Smirniotopoulos, founder and principal of petersgroup consulting and an adjunct professor of Real Estate at George Washington University… Globe St.
Tribune Tower redevelopment under consideration – The landmark Tribune Tower may become part of a major Michigan Avenue redevelopment project. Tribune Media, which owns the iconic neo-Gothic tower, unveiled broad plans at a New York investor presentation Thursday that could potentially triple the building’s space with residential, retail and hotel components. “Tribune Tower, our iconic office tower, it sits in one of the best locations in Chicago — Michigan Avenue at the river — and it’s a prime candidate for redevelopment,” said Murray McQueen, president of Tribune Real Estate… Chicago Tribune

Chicago Commercial Real Estate – In the News

Published December 5, 2014

Tom’s Recommended Reading for the Week

Check out the top Chicago commercial real estate news before heading into the weekend!

Apollo buys Kemper Lakes office complex outside Chicago – A New York-based investment manager paid $127 million for the Kemper Lakes Business Center, after a previous deal for the Long Grove office campus fell apart. Apollo Global Management, which oversees about $164 billion in assets, completed the deal Nov. 12, according to Lake County property records. An Apollo fund bought the four-building property from Equus Capital Partners, according to people familiar with the deal. Apollo stepped in to fill the void left after insurer MetLife walked away from a $130 million deal for the 1.1 million-square-foot complex earlier this year… Crain’s Chicago
AT&T Building in downtown Chicago for sale by Kushner – The owner of a 30-story West Loop office tower leased to AT&T is ready to cash in on investors’ continued interest in the 312 area code. New York-based Kushner Cos. hired the Chicago office of HFF to seek a sale of 225 W. Randolph St., which it bought for about $275.7 million in late 2007. In a somewhat unusual move, the AT&T Building is being offered for a specific price… Crain’s Chicago
Chicago-area commercial construction contracts up – New commercial real estate projects are powering the local construction industry, a welcome change for contractors who wondered five years ago if they’d ever bid on an office tower or shopping center again. Contracts for commercial and residential construction projects in the Chicago area totaled $8.6 billion over the first 10 months of the year, up 16.3 percent from a year earlier, according to Dodge Data & Analytics, a data provider formerly known as McGraw-Hill Construction… Crain’s Chicago
Mizrachi plans 41-story office and hotel tower in Chicago’s West Loop – Jumping into an already competitive field of downtown office developments, a West Loop landlord unveiled plans for a 41-story tower that would include a four-star hotel topped by office space. Joseph Mizrachi, who led a group of investors that bought the 1.1 million-square-foot office tower at 540 W. Madison St. in December 2012, heads a venture to develop land on the west side of the 23-story building. The site was part of the $350 million acquisition… Crain’s Chicago
Study Reignites Debate About Broker Interests – A new study by George Washington University’s Center for Real Estate and Urban Analysis has rekindled the debate over whether there are conflicts of interest at some of the country’s largest commercial real estate brokerages. Brokers who represent only office tenants have argued for years that conflicts exist at firms that represent both landlords and tenants—and that their tenant clients often suffer as a result… Wall Street Journal

Bradford Allen Represents Healthcare Tech Firm in Office Relocation and Expansion

Published December 1, 2014

CHICAGO, IL – Bradford Allen Realty Services is pleased to announce that Senior Managing Director Ben Azulay has completed a new 32,668 square foot lease on behalf of ZirMed at 111 N. Canal Street in Chicago.

ZirMed, the premier cloud-based enterprise business and clinical performance solution for healthcare, recently acquired MethodCare, Inc., a Chicago-based healthcare analytics firm, with significant expansion plans in Chicago. MethodCare, Inc. currently leases 6,000 square feet at 350 W. Ontario. Due to the acquisition and the need for additional space, MethodCare, Inc., chose to relocate to the fourth floor of 111 N. Canal Street where it will increase its space fivefold.

“In conjunction with the acquisition of MethodCare, ZirMed needed to find a new space in order to streamline their growing operations,” said Bradford Allen’s Azulay. “111 N. Canal provided the firm with the desired west loop location, space requirement on a single floor, amenities and relocates them into one of the city’s hottest tech markets.”

Azulay assisted the firm with its site selection analysis, ultimately securing space within the West Loop building based on its location, which provides easy access from the city and the suburbs, as well as the building’s high-tech atmosphere. ZirMed will move into the new space in March 2015, and will join the building’s other technology tenants including Uber Technologies, Gogo Inc. and Twitter Inc.

Azulay represented ZirMed in the lease negotiations. 111 N. Canal, which is owned and leased by Sterling Bay Companies, was represented by Chloe Reaumond.

About Bradford Allen Realty Services

Bradford Allen Realty Services, a Chicago-based commercial real estate firm, offers a full range of 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.