Dover Expands REO MF Work into Cincy

CINCINNATI-Dover Realty Advisors LLC, based in the Detroit suburb of Bingham Farms, MI, is expanding by adding an office here to focus on multifamily institutional asset and property management, including REO turnaround and receivership work. Principal Terry Schwartz has brought in Dan Schultz to run this office.

Schwartz, who left his post as president and COO of Village Green Apartments in 2000, says the new office is part of his move back to property management and receivership. Originally focusing solely on asset management, Dover’s property management group has seen a 50% increase in revenue growth in the past six months, with the group now running more than 6,5000 units.

This area was the best fit for expansion, he tells GlobeSt.com. “We wanted to capture mid-Ohio, as we’re already doing Toledo and Cleveland. This office will let us get into multifamily markets here and in Kentucky and Indiana,” Schwartz says.

Banks and distressed property owners have been great customers lately, he says, an area where Schwartz says he is in his element. “As a receiver you go in, and it’s where they’ve stopped spending money to maintain the place because they ran out of money,” he says. “It’s a skill to go into these troubled assets and be able to turn them around in a quick fashion. We go in and diagnose the problem, you can see a lot of the issues right off the bat. You can’t just go in and tackle them all at once, but compartmentalize and get into hard work to create best practices.”

He says the multifamily market in the Midwest is starting to stabilize and see gains in occupancy, but that there’s still to many concessions. “I think the beginning of next year we’ll start to see some improvement in the market,” Schwartz says.

COLUMBUS-Ollie’s Bargain Outlet leased its first two locations in the Columbus market. The mid-Atlantic’s largest retailer of closeout, surplus and salvage merchandise leased 30,000 square feet in Columbus Square Shopping Center and 32,000 square feet in Great Southern Shopping Center. Kevin James, VP and Micha Bitton, associate vice president, in Cassidy Turley’s regional office in Columbus, represented Ollie’s Outlet Bargain in leasing the locations. Terms of the leases were not disclosed. The store in Columbus Square Shopping Center held its grand opening on June 23. The center is anchored by a Kroger’s and includes a variety of merchandise and service retailers, as well as restaurants and entertainment. Ollie’s Bargain Outlet will hold a grand opening in July in the Great Southern Shopping Center. The 605,000-square-foot center is anchored by a Wal-Mart, Lowe’s and Kroger’s. With 13 stores already spread throughout Ohio, including Cincinnati and Cleveland, Ollie’s Bargain Outlet saw an opportunity to increase its presence in the state by opening the stores in Columbus, said Jerry Altland, VP of real estate. Based in Harrisburg, PA, Ollie’s operates 94 stores in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia, New York, North Carolina, New Jersey and Kentucky.

DETROIT-Hendricks & Partners handled the sale of the Greenfield Portfolio, a 151-unit REO apartment portfolio that sold for an undisclosed price. The Greenfield Portfolio consists of three garden-style apartment properties, all built in 1963: Westfield Apartments, Greenview Apartments, and Harvard House Apartments. Westfield contains 56 units, including 48 one-bedroom and eight two-bedroom units. Greenview has 33 one-bedroom apartments, while Harvard House features 62 apartments, with one studio, 56 one-bedroom units, and five two-bedroom units. The properties are along Greenfield Road. The seller was Bank of America NA. The Buyer was DP Precise LLC, a Michigan limited liability company of Denver. The transaction was negotiated by Mark Rohr and Eric Taylor on behalf of the Seller.

CHICAGO-David J. Gelfand, EVP with Colliers Bennett & Kahnweiler LLC’s Office Advisory Group, represented Chicago Law Partners LLC in its new office lease at 333 W. Wacker Dr. The landlord is Hines. Continuing the trend of 2010 law firm spin offs, the 6,299-square-foot transaction represents CLP’s initial foray as a standalone law firm representing trade and professional associations, not-for-profit organizations and business entities. The group is led by veterans Jed Mandel and Kimberly Pendo, previously partners at Neal Gerber & Eisenberg, where Mandel led the Association and Not-for-Profit Practice Group. Built in 1983, 333 W. Wacker is a 36-story, 870,000-square-foot building located on Wacker Drive between Lake and Franklin streets. Patrick Philbin with Hines handled negotiations on behalf of ownership.

ELKHART, IN-Santelli Tempered Glass Inc., a residential glass manufacturer, will establish its newest production facility here, creating up to 35 new jobs by 2013. The company, which manufactures tempered glass for new and replacement residential windows, will invest more than $3.7 million to lease and equip a 32,500 square-foot facility on the city's Northeast side. Santelli plans to begin hiring machine operators, plant management and maintenance staff later this summer with operations scheduled to commence in July.

SCHILLER PARK, IL-Locally-based Englewood Construction has announced its role in three Chicago-area projects, including the commencement of its open-store renovation of the Express retail store at 4104 N. Harlem Ave. in Norridge, IL. Half of the 12,558-square-foot Express retail store will remain open to the public over the five- month renovation, said William Di Santo, president of Englewood. Di Santo also announced the completion of two prominent chain establishments, an approximately 4,000-square-foot Noodles & Co. in River Forest, IL and gourmet cookie franchise Mrs. Fields in Orland Park Mall in Orland Park, IL.

AURORA-Jonathan D. Kohn with Colliers Bennett & Kahnweiler LLC’s Industrial Services Group represented PTS Fulfillment Services Inc. in its purchase of 3615 E. Exchange Ave. The seller was Duke Realty Corp.  Constructed in 1986, the property is a 64,800-square-foot industrial building in Aurora’s Meridian Business Campus. PTS will be relocating from a smaller leased facility in Carol Stream, IL, where it occupied approximately 35,000 square feet. “PTS has experienced tremendous growth throughout its short history and required a larger facility. They wanted to own instead of lease and we assisted with the search for a newer facility with a higher image in the Western suburbs,” said Kohn. The Aurora building was formerly occupied by Pierce Distribution Services Company and has been vacant for about 5 months. David Friedland with Newmark Knight Frank Epic represented Duke.