SCHILLER PARK, IL-“Stuck in the 1970s,” is how Ryan Stoller with KTR Capital Partners describes the company’s 16-building O’Hare Business Park portfolio. The 800,000-square-foot, which was opened in that era, has benefited regardless from its location at the intersection of Mannheim and Irving Park roads, across from Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport.
Even though the flex park is about 98% leased to tenants such as Gate Gourmet and Flying Foods, Stoller tells GlobeSt.com that KTR saw that modernization is needed. He said when KTR bought the portfolio three years ago for almost $38 million from Podolsky-Northstar, the property “was functional, but Class B product. It was tired looking with a bunch of mixed facades,” Stoller says.
However, he says potential was visible, and KTR realized it needed to spend a couple million dollars to invest in exterior consistency and modern amenities. “In this market you’re finding a lot of tenants are looking for value, but also for image as well. These are tenants that are already trading up,” Stoller says. The improvements include unified exterior elements, parking lot resurfacing and enhanced landscaping.
The upgrading will be complete by December. Stoller says there has been more activity in the market. “There’s definitely a sense that we’ve stabilized, especially rents, and capital markets have certainly loosened,” he says.
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