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CHICAGO-The leasehold interest at Ontario City Centre, a nearly 60-year-old, mixed-use building in the River North area of Chicago, was sold recently for about $27 million by a private partnership to former principals of Hiffman Shaffer Associates. Stanley Nitzberg, principal, and Ben Wineman, vice president with Mid-America Real Estate Corp.'s Investment Sales Group, based in Oakbrook Terrace, coordinated the sale of 630 N. Rush St. on behalf of the seller.

The building is a 320,717 sf retail/hotel complex about one block west of "The Magnificent Mile" on the northwest corner of Ontario and Rush streets. The retail tenants include Trader Joe's, Fifth Third Bank, T-Mobile and Starbucks, with the retail portion on the first two floors, and the Four Points by Sheraton Hotel completing part of the second floor and the entire third through eighth floors.

Wineman told GlobeSt.com that the hotel is considered one of the leasors in the sale. "The buyer will have nothing to do with the hotel operations," Wineman says. "They just bought the leasehold on the building. There's really five leases, the four retail leases and the hotel lease." Frederick C. Benenson, executive vice president, New York investment firm Benenson Capital Partners LLC, runs a family trust which owns the land under Ontario City Centre, Wineman says. Milwaukee-based Marcus Corp., a hospitality and movie theater managing firms, owns the 226-room hotel.

The building was originally developed as a five-story car dealership in 1947 and was renovated in 1994 to accommodate a sporting goods retailer and potential theater/entertainment use, according to Wineman. In 2005, the portion delegated to the potential theater/entertainment user was converted to a hotel. During this development, three additional full floors were added to the building for a total of eight stories, and the retail portion was completely renovated to accommodate new retail tenants.

Wineman says mixed-use properties are enjoying large success in the downtown area. "I think this development is indicative of how different real estate components work well together," he says. "Clearly this is an area where retail and hotels dominate, and with the excellent condominium market, the retail in this building will provide excellent service to new residents."

Instant Insights /

Hotel/Retail Site Sells for $27M Near Mag Mile

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