CHICAGO—Downtown boosters may have hoped the city was about to score another global headquarters when officials of Peoria, IL-based Caterpillar Inc. said in January that the firm would soon relocate to the Chicago region. But this week, company leaders instead chose Deerfield, IL, a northern suburb, as the manufacturer's new home. Caterpillar reached a multi-year leasing agreement with Corporate 500 office park, and expects about 100 employees to relocate this year, and about 300 people will work at the new headquarters by mid-2018.

The move proves yet again that although the CBD has undeniably become a jobs magnet, there remains an influential group of corporations that prefer suburban offices. These firms, such as Schaumburg, IL-based Zurich North America, have an employee base that has chosen to live in the suburbs.

It's a needed boost for the North Suburban submarket. In the first quarter, it was the only suburban area that did not record positive net absorption, according to NAI Hiffman. It was also the only submarket to record an increase in vacancy during first quarter, primarily due to Walgreens vacating more than 300,000 square feet in Lincolnshire.

But the announcement by Caterpillar won't change the overall outlook for downtown landlords. MBRE says that 54 large tenants, meaning those needing 50,000 square feet or more, have begun looking for space in the CBD. Last year at this time, there were 45.

And it's not as if Caterpillar has ignored downtown. Like many firms that choose to keep the bulk of their employees in a suburban headquarters, it also opened a downtown satellite office that handles tasks related to information technology. And Caterpillar's growing digital and analytics hub in Chicago's Merchandise Mart, established in 2016, will allow it to continue recruiting the younger workers that prefer an urban lifestyle.

NEWS & NOTABLES

CHICAGO—A team of its students from the Marshall Bennett Institute of Real Estate at Roosevelt University has won the seventh annual Eisenberg Real Estate Challenge, beating teams from five other regional universities. The announcement took place at an awards ceremony held April 8 at the Standard Club in Chicago. This is the fourth win by a Roosevelt team since it began participating in the competition six years ago. This year's challenge focused on a parcel that was formerly the headquarters of the Chicago Public Schools. The site is bounded by a train depot to the south, S. Western Ave. to the west, S. Ashland Ave. to the east and W. Pershing Rd. to the north. The Roosevelt team's presentation was titled The Innova District, which calls for redevelopment of more than three million square feet of industrial buildings. Team members were all graduate students and included: Iryna Auchynnikava, Joseph Copak, Gedeon Dansou, Michael Kritzman, Rosie McKeon and Robin Schabes. Team instructors were adjunct professors Dennis Harder and Jon Dennis. Ken Marino was team advisor.

DEALTRACKER

KANSAS CITY, MO—Officials from Hotel Brokers International say their network's brokers have closed an increasing number of transactions. The year 2016 concluded with the organization's sales up more than 26% over 2015, and the most recent sales data compiled shows an additional 8.33% increase in the number of sales for fiscal period ending March 31, 2017. “The increase in sales was a result of the continuing strong economy, including the upward trend in occupancy, average daily room rate and room revenue,” says Tony De George, HBI president 2017 and president of Greene, Canfield, De George, LLC – a full-service hotel advisory firm located in Clearwater, FL. “Also contributing was the availability of financing for lodging property sales, as well as increased activity on the buying and selling sides of transactions due to anticipation of a strong lodging market moving forward.”

GLENVIEW, IL—Mid-America Real Estate Corp.'s investment salesteam recently acted as the broker for the sale of Glenbrook Market Place in Glenview, IL. The 60,575-square-foot center was purchased by Chicago-based Northpond Partners. Glenbrook Market Place is located at the northeast corner of Willow and Pfingsten Rds. in Glenview, IL. The center includes a strong lineup of tenants including Walgreens, Eco Gym, Jimmy John's and CorePower Yoga. Mid-America Real Estate Corp.principal Joe Girardi was the exclusive broker in the transaction on behalf of the seller, Chicago-based Newport Capital Partners.

CHICAGO—Transwestern has just been selected by Bentall Kennedy Limited Partnership, a Sun Life Investment Management company, to provide management services at two properties in downtown Chicago totaling more than 290,000 square feet. Transwestern property manager Julia Rabban will lead the management team, along with vice president Katie Sakach. The properties include 100 N. LaSalle St., comprising 160,838 square feet, and 29 N. Wacker Drive, a 129,262-square-foot office building. The company's management portfolio in downtown Chicago now encompasses more than eight million square feet.

BUILDING BLOCKS

CHICAGO—Hinsdale, IL-based Foxford Communities has just started pre-construction sales for its Foxford Station, a 28-unit luxury condominium building located in the heart of Western Springs, IL. Early-bird buyers can secure pre-construction pricing and have the opportunity to select features to customize their home. Located at the corner of Wolf Rd. and Burlington Ave., Foxford Station will be the first transit-oriented development in Western Springs. The four-story building will include 3,600 square feet of first-floor commercial space and condominium residences on floors two through four. “While most of our recent developments have been located on the North Shore, we are very excited to bring our expertise back to our own neck of the woods, where our company is based, and begin construction on Foxford Station,” says Peter Brennan, president of Foxford Communities. “We've worked closely with the Village of Western Springs to design a luxury condominium development that blends in with the town's unique charm and mirrors the sophisticated style of the surrounding homes.”

DETROIT—Sachse Construction and NIKE, Inc. said yesterday that their Detroit Nike Community Store is the first store in Detroit to earn a LEED Platinum Certification. “It takes a true partnership to continue to raise the bar in environmental sustainability, and we are thankful to collaborate with Nike to achieve this major accomplishment for our environment, The City of Detroit and the retail industry as a whole,” says Sachse founder and chief executive officer Todd Sachse. The project team used local and regional building and design materials that were recycled and strictly from the Great Lakes area. The retailer's location on Woodward Ave. in proximity to local transit also played a role in earning the project extra points towards the certification, as well as NIKE, Inc. acquiring a heat pump carrier that enhances the air quality in the store. The 22,000-square-foot store, which opened in 2016, is among a handful of NIKE, Inc. stores that earned LEED Platinum.

NEWS & NOTABLES

DEALTRACKER

BUILDING BLOCKS

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Middle Market Digest-The Midwest

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