MBRE Moves to Upper Floor at 181 W. Madison

CHICAGO-MB Real Estate has relocated its corporate headquarters from the 39th floor of 181 W. Madison in Chicago to the 47th floor of the 952,000-square-foot tower, owned by GE Pension Trust. The full-service real estate firm occupies the entire floor, which consists of 17,700 square feet of office.

In 1989, MB Real Estate established its headquarters in the building when it developed the 952,000-square-foot office tower. The 49-story building was developed adjacent from the firm’s first office development, the 928,000-square-foot 200 W. Madison, which was built in 1982.

The 181 W. Madison building debuted with more than 40% being leased prior to opening. In 2002, the company secured Northern Trust for more than 421,000 square feet, making it the largest lease renewal ever in the Chicago Central Business District.

CHICAGO-CB Richard Ellis has taken over as the exclusive property management and leasing agent for The First United Methodist Church of Chicago Aid Society’s 77 W. Washington. Known as the Chicago Temple Building and designed by the architecture firm Holabird and Roche, the 230,000-square-foot office building was built in 1923. Home of The First United Methodist Church of Chicago, the building is named in the Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s tallest church building. The church sanctuary, offices, classrooms and choir rooms occupy the lower level and the first four floors of the building. A three-level parsonage and sky chapel are in the tower. Professional office space occupies the remaining fifth through 21st floors.     

ROCKFORD, IL-Cord Construction has completed the sale of a 66,387-square-foot manufacturing & warehouse facility, 100% leased to Sherwin-Williams Co. here, for $5.8 million. Brad Pepin with Stan Johnson Co. represented Monmouth in the acquisition. Gill Warner represented the seller.

CHICAGO-Summit Design + Build LLC has completed Benchmark, Chicago’s first retractable rooftop beer garden, at 1510 N. Wells in the Old Town neighborhood. The restaurant/sports bar is the newest addition to Four Corners Tavern Group’s popular Chicago establishments, which including Gaslight, WestEnd Bar & Grill and Brownstone. The project required the complete gut and renovation of an existing office building and new two-story-plus basement addition to accommodate a total building size of 10,500 square feet.

CHICAGO-Sbarro will open six new locations at the Illinois Tollway Oases. Sbarro restaurants will open at the Belvidere, Des Plaines, Hinsdale, Lake Forest, Lincoln and O’Hare Oases, and will vary in size from 700 to 1,240 square feet, for a total of 6,360 square feet. “With the addition of Sbarro, we are expanding restaurant offerings for travelers and commuters alike,” said Kevin Stanley, VP with U.S. Equities Realty, which manages and leases the Oases.

LINCOLNSHIRE, IL-Bridge Development Partners LLC, along with equity partner Globe Corp., announced today that 555 Aptakisic Dr. has been awarded LEED Gold status as established by the U.S. Green Building Council and verified by the Green Building Certification Institute. 555 Corporate Center is a four-story, 162,000-square-foot speculative office building.

UNIVERSITY PARK, IL-Middle Atlantic Products has executed a new lease here to complete a relocation of its local operations. Podolsky Northstar CORFAC International completed the tenant representation assignment. The company has completed a lease for 75,000 square feet within the building. The building, developed in 2006, totals approximately 150,000 square feet and has 30’ clear ceiling heights. The tenant will use the space for light manufacturing and warehousing. Steven Tick and Corey Chase represented the tenant in the transaction. Gerald Sullivan, Ed Wabick and Brandon Wright with Paine Wetzel represented building ownership, TCB.

CHESTERFIELD, MO-Media Management Inc., a media audit firm, has leased 10,000 square feet of office at 702 Spirit 40 Park Dr. The 30,000-square-foot property is near the Spirit of St. Louis Airport. The company is relocating from One Chesterfield Place, and will take occupancy Dec. 1. The building, which includes Cass Bank, is 50% occupied. Lynn Schenck and David Steinbach with Jones Lang LaSalle completed the transaction on behalf of the owner, Walsh Management.

PRAIRIE VILLAGE, KS-LANE4 Property Group announced that Tavern In The Village restaurant  will open in February at the Village shopping center here. Owner Kelly Manning approached Jose Peppers offering to buy out their lease, they agreed and the transfer occurred on Monday, Nov. 15.

CINCINNATI-The Hartmann-Ryan team at Cassidy Turley Commercial Real Estate Services was named Broker of the Year at the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties (NAIOP) Greater Cincinnati Northern Kentucky Night of the Stars annual awards dinner. The award was accepted by team members Mike Hartmann, Bob Ryan, Jordan Weidner and Matt Crawford. Additional team members include Mike Schmitt, Steve Verdin, Shari Goodridge and Dawn Segrist. During the awards analysis period, the Hartmann-Ryan team was involved in the brokerage of more than 83 transactions valued at more than $2 billion. Recent milestones include brokering the adaptive re-use of the historic 156,000-square-foot Vernon Manor hotel by Cincinnati Children's hospital into modern office space. The team also recently facilitated the $35 million purchase of 23.4 acres of land in downtown Cincinnati to be developed into an urban casino.

AUBURN HILLS, MI-Signature Associates has negotiated the sale of a 218,174-square-foot industrial building at 1750 Summit Dr. to Weber Real Estate, LLC. John Boyd and Paul Hoge represented the seller, GS Landlord LLC. 

TROY, MI-Friedman Real Estate Group Inc. recently negotiated the sale of 8,600 square feet of light industrial space at 2549 Elliot here. The seller, 2549 Elliot LLC, sold the space to Clawson-Troy Elks Lodge #2169. This will be the Clawson-Troy Elks’ new location where they will have their offices and meeting hall. The Elks will also be converting the warehouse into a banquet and meeting facility with full food service and bar. The hall will be available for rent by the public. The city assisted this process by approving the property for its use. The city is actively finding alternative uses for vacant light industrial properties in their city. Larry Schultz represented the purchaser in this transaction.

REDFORD, MI-LaKritz-Weber & Co. arranged a 4,700-square-foot sale at 14349 Telegraph Rd. Tony Schmitt represented the seller, 14349 Telegraph LLC in this transaction with Dave Hesano with Landmark Commercial Real Estate Services representing the buyer, Dwight Detroit Real Estate LLC. This property was a former Allstate Dart and Billiards located just north of I-96. The purchaser will be converting building to a physical therapy operation.

MILWAUKEE-Chicago-based Testa Produce Inc., a distributor of fruits, vegetables and specialty products, recently inked a long-term lease of 8,500 square feet of industrial space in the Airport Industrial Park. The 16,800 square foot building at 5140 S. 3rd St. is now 100% occupied. James H. Cape and Kenneth R. Braden were the listing brokers on the property, and Wendy Shapiro with WBS Equities represented the tenant.

INDIANAPOLIS-Oak Residential Partners, LLC entered the Indianapolis apartment market by closing on its second multifamily investment in as many months, the 146-unit Grande Reserve at Geist Apartments. Located at 8019 Glenway Dr. and completed in 1996, the property consists of 17 two-story buildings plus a clubhouse. Oak placed new financing on the property in the form of a 10-year fixed rate Freddie Mac loan arranged by Wells Fargo Multifamily Capital. Brian Manion originated the loan. Oak manages the property on behalf of its private investors and hired Village Green Management Co., based in Farmington Hills, MI, as property manager.

COLUMBUS, IN-Centro Properties Group announced a 4,100-square-foot Panera Bread recently opened at Columbus Center, located east of Interstate 65, on North National Road (Highway 31) at the intersection of Beam Road. Reggie Brown with Niessink Commercial Real Estate represented the tenant. Bob Pionke represented Centro, the owner.

BISMARCK, ND-Fishers, IN-based Dora Hospitality LLC announced plans for a 100-room Holiday Inn hotel here, expected to open in 2012. The property is based on the Holiday Inn brand’s “Next-Generation” prototype and will showcase the brand’s new sign, which is the seal of approval that this hotel exemplifies the standards of the $1 billion Holiday Inn brand relaunch program. The property will be owned by Bismarck Ridgeline LLC and managed by Dora Hospitality, LLC under a license agreement.