Mell & Company has leased 21,880 square feet of warehouse space located at 6700 Touhy Ave. in Niles. Terrence O’Hara, senior vice president of Lee & Associates of Illinois LLC, represented building ownership, Mohawk Building LLC, and Peter Billmeyer of Chicagoland Commercial represented the tenant in the transaction.

Ellen Steinbrecher and CJ Kuehl, both principals of Lee & Associates of Illinois, represented National Louis University in their lease of 11,199 square feet of office space located in the Capitol Commerce Center in Wheeling. Jason Streepy of NAI Hiffman represented building ownership in the transaction.

MKD Electric has purchased a 35,150-square-foot industrial building located at 1450 McLean Boulevard in Elgin.  John Cassidy and Ken Franzese, both principals of Lee & Associates of Illinois, represented the seller, a private trust, and Bruce Granger of Grubb & Ellis represented the buyer in the transaction.

General Electric has leased 32,000 square feet located at 7521 Brush Hill Road in Burr Ridge. Brian Vanosky, principal of Lee & Associates of Illinois, represented building ownership, and Brush Hill Properties and Mike Mangan of CB Richard Ellis represented the tenant in the transaction.

Jim Planey and Jeff Janda, both principals of Lee & Associates of Illinois, represented Coated Sand Solutions in their purchase of 28.05 acres at Ritchie Road and Steward Road in Rochelle.  Planey and Janda also represented ownership, The Boyle Family, in the transaction.

Mike Plumb, vice president of Lee & Associates of Illinois, represented CM2 Properties LLC in their purchase of a 44,300-square-foot warehouse building located at 490 Windy Point Drive in Glendale Heights.

Walter Murphy, principal of Lee & Associates of Illinois, represented JMK-IIT in their lease of 86,631 square feet of industrial space located at 530 W. North Frontage Road in Bolingbrook.  Larry Johnson and Kirk Armour of CB Richard Ellis represented building ownership in the transaction.

Jon Savoy

This December, Midwest Real Estate News presents its second Commercial Real Estate Hall of Fame, honoring more than 50 of the industry’s top names. It’s our most popular issue of the year.

We’ll also be running profiles of several of our Hall of Fame inductees on Rejournals.com. Here’s a sample from our December issue.

Jon Savoy
President
Lee & Associates of Michigan
Southfield, Mich.

It’s not surprising that Jon Savoy’s clients are so fiercely loyal to him. For more than three decades, Savoy has delivered these clients the highest-quality service.

This has led Savoy, president of Lee & Associates of Michigan in Southfield, Mich., to a successful 33-year career in an industry known for sudden highs and fierce lows. Savoy, though, has maintained a steady business through both the ups and downs.

Again, credit for this goes to Savoy’s commitment to customer service, and to the loyal group of clients that it has brought him. These clients stay with Savoy through the best and the worst of commercial real estate markets.

Savoy’s peers recognize this. It’s why his fellow members of the Michigan CCIM chapter recently named him Michigan Broker of the Year. And it’s why his fellow brokers in Oakland County, Mich., recently named him their Broker of the Year.

This kind of respect doesn’t just happen. Commercial real estate professionals have to earn it. Just ask officials with the CoStar Group; they named Savoy a Power Broker. First Industrial Realty Trust understands Savoy’s commitment to his industry, too; officials with this trust named Savoy the Most Valuable Broker in Detroit. Midwest Real Estate News hasn’t been shy about honoring Savoy, either; this magazine has named Savoy as one of its Top 40 over 40 for the strong work he’s turned in during his career.

Savoy, in addition to serving his clients so diligently, has also made an impact in the Michigan real estate market. He opened the Lee & Associates of Michigan office in May of 2005. Since then, he has served as a mentor and motivator for the professional brokers who have joined his team.

Savoy’s influence has been felt across the Lee & Associates network. He wrote and published Your Lee & Associates Advantage, a sales and customer-management system that Lee & Associates has adopted throughout its entire national organization.

Nick Eboli, senior associate, of Lee & Associates of Illinois, LLC represented CPS, Inc. in their lease of 34,013 square feet of manufacturing space located at 80 Internationale Boulevard in Glendale Heights.  Mike Sedjo, Chris Zubel and Anna Sedjo, of CB Richard Ellis represented building ownership, ProLogis, in the transaction.

John Cassidy and Ken Franzese, both principals, of Lee & Associates of Illinois, LLC represented Strictly FX in their leasing of 14,503 square feet of flex space located at 1400 Michael Drive in Wood Dale.  Chris Zubel of CB Richard Ellis represented building ownership, ProLogis, in the transaction.

Cassidy and Franzese also represented JAS Forwarding in their lease of 78,200 square feet of industrial space located at 1400 Algonquin Road in Mt. Prospect.  Matt Stauber of Colliers International, represented building ownership, ING/Clarion Partners, in the transaction.

Chris Nelson, principal, of Lee & Associates of Illinois, LLC represented IJS Global Inc. in the leasing of 18,834  square feet of warehouse space located at 1055 Stevenson Court in Roselle.  Brian Kling of Colliers International represented building ownership, James Campbell Company, in the transaction.

ADMO has purchased a 42,280 square feet industrial building located at 1370 Gateway Drive in Elgin.  Steve Bass of Lee & Associates of Illinois, LLC represented the seller, KNEBL, LLC, in the transaction.

Scott Anderson, vice president, of Lee & Associates of Illinois, LLC, represented building ownership, Arquilla Industries in the sale of a 40,410 square feet warehouse on 5.85 acres in Harvey, Ill. The buyer, Seefried Properties was represented by CBRE. The property, which is adjacent to the Canadian National Railroad intermodal, will serve as a distribution center for The American Bottling Company.

Anderson also represented building ownership, CenterPoint Property Trust in the sale of a 102,107-square-foot manufacturing facility on 5.8 acres in Chicago. The property is located on the south east side of Chicago, within the Ford Supplier Park. The Ford Motor Company was the buyer.

JBS Logistics, Inc. leased 303,800 square feet in Building 3 of Prairie Pointe Corporate Center, which is located in the I-88 submarket at 2043 Corporate Lane in Naperville, Ill. The third-party logistics company fully occupies the

Prairie Pointe Building 3

building and will use the space for storage, warehousing and distribution of individually packaged consumer goods and food products on behalf of their clients. This lease brings the park to approximately 97 percent occupancy.

The company plans to take occupancy in October 2011. Jeff Fischer of NAI Hiffman represented JBS Logistics in the lease transaction. Rick Daly and Cory Ramey of Darwin Realty listed the property on behalf of owners IDI and TIAA.

To the west of I-88, GSP leased 78,494 square feet respectively in Prime Business Park at 1455 Sequoia Drive bringing the building to 84 percent occupancy. GSP relocated from a smaller facility in west Chicago and will use the space to support their rapidly expanding environmental packaging production business. Suzanne Serino with Avison Young represented GSP and Jeff Janda and Mike Androwich with Lee & Associates were listing agents on the property. Jeff Lanaghan represented IDI in all of the new leases.

Earlier this year, MMD Logistics, a third-party logistics provider, also moved to a 41,012 space in Prime Business Park from a Bolingbrook facility where they previously had 50,000 square feet. John Joyce, Terry Alexander and Jeff Locasio of Newmark Knight Frank Epic represented MMD in the lease and Jeff Janda and Mike Androwich with Lee & Associates were listing agents on the property.

Finally, hhgregg Inc.’s facility for Gregg Appliances in Prairie Point West, Building A, is located in 247,360 square feet at 2176 Diehl Road in Aurora. hhgregg is the first tenant in Building A, where 116,015 square feet remains available for lease. Matthew Stauber and Lawrence Shaw of Colliers International represented hhgregg and Kirk Armour and David Prell of CB Richard Ellis were the listing agents for the building.

IDI first acquired property in the I-88 corridor in 1996 with the development of Prairie Pointe Corporate Park in Naperville.

PackageRight Corporation purchased the building. This buyer was unrepresented in the transaction.

Stan Elser of Lee & Associates represented the seller, SPM Real Estate, Inc.

Brian Vanosky, John Sharpe and Justin Fierz, principals out of Lee Illinois in Chicago represented XMH Corp. 1, which sold the asset located at 5000 S. Ohio St.

Liliana Ake of Exit 1 Realty represented the purchaser, Buyer Select Development Corporation, a local manufacturer.

The property consists of two buildings measuring 169,589 square feet and 150,000 square feet, built in 1970 and 1984, respectively. Approximately 62,000 square feet of office space is included.

“This transaction means a lot to Michigan City. To have a building this size purchased by a local manufacturer,” said Kevin Keift of the Michigan City Economic Development Corporation in a release. “We had three parties that were interested in the property. Two of them wanted to break it up. But Select Development Corporation, an affiliate of Fas-Pak, Inc., will be utilizing the entire complex, and that makes it especially special. This means a lot to the local economy and we’re thrilled.”

Brian Vanosky and Jeff Janda, both principals, of Lee & Associates of Illinois, LLC represented RotaDyne in their renewal of 52,619 square feet of manufacturing space located at 1101 Windham Parkway in Romeoville.  Building ownership, ProLogis, represented themselves in the transaction.

Best Restorations has leased a 67,000-square-foot industrial building located at 875 Tollgate Road in Elgin.  John Cassidy and Ken Franzese, both principals, of Lee & Associates of Illinois, LLC represented building ownership, R & R Investments, and Nick Bohlen represented the tenant in the transaction.

Walter Murphy, Principal, of Lee & Associates of Illinois, LLC represented Bella Brew Coffee & Beverage Company in their lease of 47,302 square feet of industrial space located at 5000 W. 123^rd Street in Alsip.  Walter also represented building ownership in the transaction.

Chris Nelson, principal, and Mike Plumb, vice president, of Lee & Associates of Illinois, LLC completed the sale of a 61,250-square-foot food grade building located at 40 W. Fullerton Avenue in Addison.  Tom Rodeno and Jonathon Kohn of Colliers International represented the Purchaser, Fortune Fish, in the transaction.

Winpak Portion Packaging employs approximately 200 people and currently operates a manufacturing facility in nearby South Chicago Heights producing plastic cups and trays for food and beverages as well as other packaging.The new facility will be an expansion of the manufacturer’s local operations and will create 40 jobs once the facility is complete in spring of 2012, with more jobs in the future based on Winpak’s plans to expand the facility to a full 600,000 square feet on the 28 acre site.

The State of Illinois provided a $1.6 million business investment package to Winpak Portion Packaging to help fund the new state of the art manufacturing facility at 1111 Winpak Way, which complements the company’s $30 million investment for land, building and equipment.

Andy James, Dermody Properties’ Midwestern Regional Partner in Chicago, and John Atwell, COO of DP, were the Dermody Properties team members who consummated the transaction with Winpak. Justin Fierz and Brian Vanosky of Lee & Associates represented Winpak, and George Cibula and Ryan Hanley of Darwin Realty represented DP. Principle Construction is the general contractor for the build to suit facility.

Winpak chose DP’s LogistiCenter at Sauk Village because of its proximity to Winpak’s South Chicago Heights location as well as the rail hub access for potential future rail shipping needs.

LogistiCenter at Sauk Village is a 325-acre Class A business park, located approximately 29 miles due south of downtown Chicago in suburban Cook County. It is bounded by Illinois state highway 394 on the east, Cottage Grove Avenue on the west, Sauk Trail on the south and the CN on the north. Located within the heavy industrial Calumet Expressway Corridor, the park has immediate access to IL 394 and is within six miles of I-80/I-94, making it an ideal location for serving the tri-state area of Illinois, Indiana and Michigan.

“We should see more absorption, but only nominal price increases,” said Terry O’Hara, a senior vice president with Lee & Associates.

Many tenants are no longer paralyzed by the market, which should spur more deals to be completed in 2011, said Adam Tarantur, a vice president with Podolsky Northstar CORFAC International.

Market activity has improved significantly in the last year, but “there’s a huge difference between interest and signing on the dotted line,” said Joe Bronson, a vice president with NAI Hiffman Associates. “It’s not going to be a breakthrough year.”

The critical component to any sustainable recovery is jobs, according to John Girsch, president of John F. Girsch & Company. “Job creation is critical to any market improvements,” he said.

According to the survey, the increase in demand likely will be driven by users that require 100,000 square feet of space or less. Survey results were almost evenly split between the 29.9 percent who think activity will center on users leasing less than 25,000 square feet and the 35.6 percent who think demand will stem from those who want between 25,000 and 100,000 square feet. Overall, pent up demand and companies needing to make a decision should help stabilize the market.

When asked about rental rates, 79.5 percent said rates will be flat or increase nominally by the end of the year. The vast majority – 46.2 percent – see rent growth as being flat. The other 33.3 percent expect rents to increase nominally, by as much as five percent.

“The activity will pick up, but the rates will remain flat as landlords continue to aggressively compete for the deals,” said Jeanne Rogers, an executive vice president and principal of Arthur J. Rogers & Co.

While rental rates are expected to improve by year end, they are contingent on occupancy rates getting above 92 percent. “It should take until at least the end of 2011 if not through most of 2012 to reach that level,” Bronson said.

According to published reports, first quarter vacancies in the suburban marketplace are more than 11.5 percent. A vacancy rate decline to between eight and nine percent will require absorption ranging from almost 35 million square feet to more than 47 million square feet.

On the sales side, 74.3 percent of the survey respondents think sales prices will remain flat or increase by as much as 5 percent. Of those, 34.6 percent say the increase will be nominal and up to 5 percent and 33.3 percent say sales prices will remain flat. The remaining 6.4 percent see prices increasing by more than 5 percent.

“Many companies still are not ready to commit to a purchase unless they are sure that it’s a great deal,” said Rogers. “They would rather lease than leave any money on the table.”

According to Rick Anesi with New London Associates, buyers need to know the stock market will hold and sellers need to continue to “get realistic” on their pricing.

The other respondents expect sales prices to decrease, with 20.6 percent saying the amount will be nominal and as much as 5 percent and 5.1 percent saying the decrease would be more than 5 percent.

Survey respondents also noted that the lackluster economy and the difficulty obtaining financing are continued obstacles to market growth. “For smaller users, incentives such as SBA financing programs will be valuable tools as we move forward,” said Thomas M. Boyle, a principal with Newmark Knight Frank Epic.

As the second quarter of 2011 gets underway, there are many signs of optimism. “An increase in leasing activity combined with an increase in showings, requests for proposals and letters of intent all lead me to think that 2011 is headed in the right direction,” said Rick Delisle, a principal with Lee & Associates.

Other observations from the survey included:

• “The Midwest has been negatively impacted more than other U.S. regions because of declines in the manufacturing sector. Many local companies cannot grow in the Chicago area,” said John Joyce, Newmark Knight Frank Epic.
• “Many small businesses will remain in their spaces on a short term basis and wait it out, avoiding a significant move until the economy stabilizes,” said Adam Tarantur, Podolsky Northstar CORFAC International.

• “There is still a dichotomy, with large deals in good submarkets significantly improving and continued malaise in the Class B and C sectors,” said Chris Gary, NAI Hiffman.

Kansas City-based Harbinger Property Group joined Lee & Associates, giving Lee its second office in the Kansas region. The company now boasts eight offices in the Midwest.

Lee & Associates also operates 42 offices across the nation.