CHICAGO-The second-largest shopping center owner in the US adds nearly three million sf in deals that represent an overall capitalization rate of 7.11%. Closings on the malls in Fort Wayne, IN; South Portland, ME, and Wichita Falls, TX, are scheduled later this month.

ELK GROVE VILLAGE, IL-A 72,270-sf industrial building on a 3.5-acre site at 1800 Touhy Ave., is acquired by ChemPlate, while the Salvation Army will use a 60,000-sf building at 1000 Pratt Ave. as a disaster recovery center.

ONTARIO, CA-A 9.3% vacancy rate and 2003 net absorption of 1.17 million sf are signs San Bernardino/Riverside County "has outgrown its identity as an emerging market," says Grubb & Ellis SVP John Ewart.

ORANGE, CA-From their 10th-floor offices atop Transwestern Investment Co.'s 212,325-sf building at 333 S. Anita, employees of the consumer credit firm can see Anaheim Stadium. The 10-year, 19,632-sf deal is worth more than $6.5 million.

CHICAGO-Owners of more bread-and-butter properties are weathering the economic storms better than their counterparts holding class A assets, according to panelists at Chicago Real Estate Council's recent capital markets forum.

ORANGE, CA-The multifamily rehab specialists acquire the 460-unit California Oaks in Murrieta for $42 million and buy out Somerset Apartment Homes partner Bank of America in a $29.5-million deal. Eagle Real Estate Group now controls 17% of the Temecula/Murrieta Valley inventory.

IRVINE, CA-A fixture at 2030 Main St. for 15 years, Wells Fargo Bank drops ideas of build-to-suits in favor of a deal for another 15 years with the Ohio Teacher's Retirement System.

MORENO VALLEY, CA-The center anchored by Toys R Us and Sears sells to a private investor for $63 per sf. Meanwhile, the Oaktree Village Shopping Center in Mission Viejo goes on the market for $14.9 million, or $185 per sf.