CHICAGO-A local developer has sold the Walgreens-anchored retail strip on the bottom floor of 757 Orleans, a 22-story condominium tower built and marketed by the Gammonley Group. An unnamed buyer, represented by Transwestern, purchased the 13,738-square-foot retail area for $10.8 million, or about $786 per square foot.

The tenants of the space include Bank of America, Verizon Wireless and Walgreens, which takes up 83% of the retail space. The 2-year-old condo tower is in the River North neighborhood, at the corner of West Chicago Avenue and North Orleans Street. The tower, which has units from the low $200,000s to mid $400,000s, was reportedly 60% occupied at the beginning of the year.

Austin Weisenbeck and Sean Sharko with Marcus & Millichap represented the seller. Weisenbeck said in a statement that the sale was the one of the highest per-square-foot prices for a storefront in Chicago this year, in part thanks to additions to the Walgreens lease. “Their lease calls for rare increases in both the base term and option periods,” he said.

CHICAGO-The Village Market retail center bordering the Lakeshore East neighborhood on the New Eastside is opening on Tuesday with the debut of the 55,000-square-foot Mariano’s Fresh Market, developed by Milwaukee-based Roundy’s Supermarkets Inc. The second anchor tenant, III Forks Steakhouse, has scheduled its grand opening for Wednesday. Situated at 333 Benton Pl. near the southwest corner of the 28-acre community, the four-story, 105,000-square-foot Village Market is accessible from Randolph Street east of Blue Cross-Blue Shield headquarters at Columbus Drive. Magellan Development Group and Hanwha Engineering & Construction are joint-venture development partners on the project. A variety of Village Market tenants preparing for a 2012 opening include Maison A Brasserie, Eggy’s, and Cuticle Nail Salon.

LIBERTYVILLE, IL-International commercial real estate services firm Studley represented the Batterz Box, a brand new baseball and softball equipment retailer targeting athletes ages 8 through 18, in its 6,400-square-foot direct retail lease at Red Top Plaza shopping center. This is the first store location for The Batterz Box, which specializes in selling athletic equipment that young players can test before purchasing. The store, at 1336 S. Milwaukee Avenue, is scheduled to open Nov. 1. Senior Managing Director David Metrick represented the tenant in the long-term lease. The landlord, Inland Real Estate Corp., was represented in-house by Allison Kuchny. The plaza is a 151,840-square-foot shopping center anchored by Jewel-Osco along Milwaukee Avenue (Route 21). Other tenants include Subway, Bank of America and Hertz Rent-A-Car.

NAPERVILLE, IL-Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services recently arranged the sale of an apartment complex consisting of eight 12-unit buildings here. The asset sold to Evergreen Real Estate Services at a price of $7.5 million, which represents a cap rate on current net operating income of 7.37%. Eric Bell, an SVP and Edward Liss, an associate, represented the seller, who had acquired the complex in pieces over the past 20 years. “There were a number of competitive offers. The buyer who ultimately put the deal under contract and closed on the buildings acquired very attractive financing and plans on holding the property long term. There is strong demand for quality rental markets and well-constructed properties of this size,” says Eric Bell. Built in 1986, the property known as Whispering Trails consists of a mix of 88 two-bedroom/two-bathroom units and eight two-bedroom/one-bathroom units.

LAKE FOREST, IL-RV Imports, a food distributor, has purchased a 60,096-square-foot industrial building at 13825 W. Laurel Dr. to accommodate the company’s expansion. Whit Heitman, Samuel Badger and Brad Weiner with Paine/Wetzel * ONCOR International represented the buyer in the transaction. Ryan Bain, Keith Puritz, Brett Kroner and Zachary Graham with CB Richard Ellis worked on behalf of the seller, Duke Realty.

CHICAGO-Essex Realty Group Inc. recently arranged the sale of 7453 N. Western in the West Ridge neighborhood for $1 million. The property, constructed in 2007, consists of six 3-bedroom/2-bathroom apartments and two first floor commercial spaces. Doug Fisher and Matt Welke represented the seller in the transaction, and Jim Darrow and Jordan Gottlieb represented the buyer.

CHICAGO-Ben Andrews, a senior advisor with Sperry Van Ness, has represented Epic Burger in the acquisition of three new locations in the Streeterville and Gold Coast neighborhoods of downtown Chicago, as well as at Westfield Old Orchard in Skokie, IL. Later this year Epic Burger will open its doors on East Ontario Street in the Streeterville neighborhood and in the heart of the Gold Coast at 40 E. Pearson Street. “While these new restaurants are under construction and opening, we are also very busy securing our 2012 deals, and are on the hunt for more A-plus locations for Epic Burger,” said Andrews in a statement.

MILWAUKEE-Marina Road Apartments, a 37-unit multifamily complex with Lake Michigan frontage at 3303-05 Marina Rd. in South Milwaukee, traded recently for $1.2 million. The bank-owned property had been marketed over the summer by Siegel-Gallagher's Investment Properties Group, while Siegel-Gallagher's management arm had taken over operations after the seller acquired it through a deed in lieu of foreclosure. Patrick Gallagher and Matson Holbrook handled the sale on behalf of the seller. The buyer, LBAH II LLC, is headed by a local investor who owns other multifamily properties in the area. The sale comes on the heels of an active summer in which Siegel-Gallagher sold four other bank-owned multifamily properties around downtown Milwaukee and the East Side to local investors. The sale prices of the combined 80 units totaled more than $5 million.

HARTFORD, WI-Lee & Associates recently completed the $2.8 million lease of a 24,000-square-foot retail center in Hartford, Wis. Steve Doran and Todd Waller represented the ownership group on all transactions. Located next to a new Wal-Mart Super Center, Lee had the center 75% pre-leased before construction commenced and 100% leased before construction was finalized. All tenants, including Dollar Tree, Game Stop and Great Clips, are expected to open before Christmas 2011.

FRANKLIN, WI-ESC Services Inc., an Oak Creek, WI-based engineering firm that specializes in lockout procedures, recently signed a lease for 3,500 square feet of office space here. The 43,560-square-foot Franklin Business Center property is at 9614 S. Franklin Dr. in the Franklin Business Park. David Barry with Milwaukee-based Cassidy Turley Barry represented ESC Services Inc. in the transaction, while Curt Pitzen with NAI MLG Commercial represented the property owner Oak Brook Apple LLC. ESC Services will move its existing operations from 9721 S. Bluegrass Pl., Oak Creek, to the newly leased space in October.

ROCHESTER HILLS, MI-Signature Associates has negotiated the sale of 143,199 square feet of hi-tech space to Sunlogics. The building is at 2901 Waterview Dr. John Boyd and Steve Gordon represented the purchaser.

ROYAL OAK, MI-Mid-America Real Estate-Michigan Inc. recently arranged a 2,917-square-foot lease in Main North at 11 Mile Road and Main Street. Adam Goodman and Tony Schmitt represented the landlord, Main Eleven Royal Oak LLC in this transaction. The new tenant is Zumba Mexican Grille, which is relocating from across the street. Once complete, the new restaurant will be directly adjacent to the new Emagine Theatre.

SHELBY TOWNSHIP, MI-L. Mason Capitani CORFAC International recently arranged the lease of 3,183 square feet at 47742-47758 Van Dyke here. The tenant, Hiregenics Inc., has relocated its Troy office and expanded into a larger office in Shelby Township. The company provides workforce business services. Mason L. Capitani, Al Iafrate and Phil Myers represented both landlord and tenant.

ST. PAUL, MN-Avalon School recently moved to a new location near the intersection of University and Raymond. The school’s relocation was necessary due to a neighboring tenant’s expansion into its former space at 1745 University Ave. Avalon identified options along with real estate advisors Joe Hughes and Jerry Driessen from CB Richard Ellis, who worked with Avalon for 18 months to help determine the best options available for the school. Wellington Management was identified to purchase the building, build out the space and lease back to Avalon. More than $1 million was invested into the space, a historical “brick and timber” style building which was originally the home of Sewell Gear Manufacturing, who closed their doors in 2009.

MINNETONKA, MN-Liberty Property Trust has purchased three office properties at Minnetonka Corporate Campus. The three buildings total more than 231,000 square feet and were purchased for approximately $11 million. The buildings include 6000 Clearwater Dr., a four-story, 91,761-square-foot office building; 12900 Whitewater Dr., a three-story, 66,222-square-foot office building, and 12800 Whitewater Dr. three story, 73,400-square-foot office building.

TOLEDO, OH-McKinley’s Residential Client Services recently arranged the disposition of Executive Towers, a 149-unit apartment complex here. McKinley was appointed receiver of this asset in March 2010. Since then, overall occupancy was increased from 86.53% at the commencement of management to a consistent occupancy of 100%. The company did not comment on the buyer or the price.

OMAHA, NE-DP Management LLC has joined the TCN Worldwide. DP Management is an affiliate of the Dial Cos., which was founded in 1959 as Dial Realty Inc. TCN currently leases and manages more than five million square feet of commercial real estate including open-air centers, enclosed malls, office buildings, and residential communities, located primarily in the middle market regions of 11 Midwest states from Michigan to Colorado.