The portfolio is a master planned project developed adjacent tothe University of Illinois by Fox Development Corp., based here,and constructed between 1989 and 2001, says Nussbaum, managingdirector for Transwestern. The Shoppes of Knollwood is an upscaleretail center with the rest of the portfolio consisting of officespace. The park has "a lot of high-credit national tenants,"Nussbaum says. According to Fox Development's website the Shoppesof Knollwood are located on South Neil Street between DevonshireDrive and Windsor Road. The retail for Shoppes of Knollwoodconsists of more than 38,000 sf, according to Fox Development'swebsite.

The portfolio has always been well occupied and Nussbaum said hecould not recall the development being less than 96% occupied. "Itis in a market where there is a limited amount of class A officespace and in a market where the class A office space tends to be95% or better occupied," he says. Office tenants include Blue CrossBlue Shield, Allstate, Amdocs and Intel. The asking lease rate forclass A office space in the area ranges from $15 per sf and $17 persf, net although "Rates are going up all over" as there is notclass A office space available, Nussbaum says. Retail tenantsinclude First Midwest Bank and Le Peet Restaurant. The askingretail lease rate for the area is between $17 per sf and $19 per sfnet, he says.

Romanek acquired the properties in late 2004 from FoxDevelopment. Transwestern represented Fox Development in theacquisition. Nussbaum would not disclose the sales price in the2004 transaction but it was reportedly $31 million. Romanek had notbeen planning on selling the portfolio when Transwestern contactedthe firm with "a good match," Nussbaum says. No renovations areneeded to any of the buildings. "The buyer is looking for futureand consistent cash flow," he says. "This will be a long-termhold."