GlenStar Properties’ 55 E. Monroe has been recognized by the industry’s leading organizations for best practices in the areas of telecommunications connectivity, energy performance and sustainability, earning WiredScore, ENERGY STAR and LEED, Gold certifications in 2018.

WiredScore, the first and only certification process in commercial real estate that identifies strong internet connectivity, has certified 55 E. Monroe Gold, one of only a handful of downtown properties to achieve WiredScore certification. One of the most well-connected properties in the entire CBD, 55 E. Monroe offers multiple fiber providers for tenants, adistributed antenna system that helps ensure uninterrupted wireless and cell phone coverage, as well as dark fiber service, which allow tenants to connect directly to their internal corporate networks and systems.

The Environmental Protection Agency’s 2018 ENERGY STAR certification for superior energy performance has given 55 E. Monroe a score of 82—up from 76 over the past year. This improvement is due to several changes that ownership implemented, including a lighting conversion of T12 fluorescents to LEDs, ongoing participation in the MCBx Energy Efficiency Program and implementation of monitoring-based commissioning and an upgrade of HVAC systems with wireless DDC technology.

As one of the early adaptors of the LEED Dynamic Plaque program, 55 E. Monroe earned LEED Gold certification. The USGBC’s LEED program is the most widely used green building rating system in the world, available for virtually all building, community and home project types. LEED provides a framework to create healthy, highly efficient and cost-saving green buildings and certification is a globally recognized symbol of sustainability achievement.

“We are extremely pleased to achieve this trifecta of industry performance recognition,” said Chuck Fendrich, 55 E. Monroe’s vice president and general manager. “Certification is an excellent way for us to distinguish our tenant services in the industry.”

55 E. Monroe is a 1.5-million-square-foot, 39-story, mixed-use property in Chicago. It is managed by GlenStar Properties, a Chicago-based commercial real estate company that provides property development, investment, leasing and management services to corporate and institutional real estate owners.

Source: rejournals.com

More than $158 million was spent on the five largest Chicago-area office property transactions in August.

Of that total, more than 75 percent of it came in one deal: the $121.5 million sale of an office complex in the northwest suburbs. Two of the five biggest office deals in August were for properties in the suburbs, according to a review of Cook County property records.

1701 Golf Road | $121.5 million

Rubenstein Partners recorded the priciest office buy in August with the $121.5 million purchase of the Continental Towers complex in Rolling Meadows. The price is a substantial increase over the complex’s previous sale, when GlenStar Properties and Walton Street Capital picked up the building for $58.5 million in 2013 after previous owner Prime Realty Group defaulted on its loan.

1029 West Madison Street | $13.1 million

The Feil Organization’s latest acquisition in the red hot West Loop was the $13.1 million purchase of an office building from owner-tenant Schafer Condon Carter, an advertising agency. In 2016, New York-based Feil spent $35 million for five properties in Fulton Market, and it paid $23 million in 2017 for 730 North Franklin Street in River North.

1200 North State Street | $10.1 million

Newcastle Limited bought this three-story mixed-use building on the Near North Side for $10.1 million from from a trust, records show. The firm also recently spent more than $17 million for a Gold Coast residential tower and a retail building in Lincoln Park.

7600 West College Drive | $7.85 million

A suburban medical office building switch hands between two companies that specialize in medical real estate. Arizona-based Everest Healthcare Properties bought the Palos Heights building for $7.85 million from Florida-based Rendina Healthcare Real Estate.

1400 West Monroe Street | $6 million

New York-based JK Equities bought a four-story skilled-care facility in the West Loop for $6 million. The building was sold by Symphony PAN, a national post-acute care provider. The deal was structured as a lease-buyback, according to a press release from Interra Realty, the brokerage that represented on both sides in the deal.

Source: therealdeal.com

Trustees cleared the way for a huge athletic and recreational facility at the site of a vacant office complex at Half Day Road and I-94.

LINCOLNSHIRE, IL — Lincolnshire village trustees Monday advanced a plan to tear down a largely vacant office park and replace it with a huge indoor sports facility and other ventures as part of a new mixed-use development. The board rezoned 40 acres on the northwest corner of Half Day Road and I-94 from an office to business district and issue a special use permit for development set to be anchored by the massive “sports and wellness complex.”

The Lincolnshire Village Board Monday gave its preliminary approval for plans to turn the site into a 450,000-square-foot recreation and fitness complex called The St. James, as well as a hotel, a restaurant and “a public or private recreation facility to be identified in the future,” according to a memo from village staff. The developer said the other tenants would not commit until the site was re-zoned.

The St. James Director of Development Michael Kerin said the Lincolnshire site is particularly attractive for the recreation company’s second facility. Its first location is in the D.C. suburbs. A 50,000-square-foot athletic, health and retail complex has a grand opening planned for next month in Springfield, Virginia.
The proposed two-story Lincolnshire multi-sport facility would include to have the only FIFA regulation-sized turf soccer field in the region, two NHL regulation-sized ice rinks, an Olympic-sized pool, a water park, four basketball courts, a fitness center, a gym, gymnastic center, spa, health club, an “active entertainment center” – a mix of climbing structures, trampolines and zip lines with party and gaming areas – among other things.

Source: patch.com

Glenstar Properties will build a massive sports and entertainment complex in Lincolnshire, after village officials voted to approve the massive project.

The Chicago-based developer will construct The St. James, a 450,000-square-foot facility on 43 acres, according to the Daily Herald. The complex will be operated by St. James, a Virginia-based company.

The sprawling entertainment center will include sa FIFA soccer regulation field house, two ice hockey rinks and a water park. The property is at the intersection of Interstate 94 and Half Day Road, about 30 miles north of downtown Chicago, The site was previously home to the medical supply manufacturer Medline.

The complex will also have an Olympic-size pool, a 50,000-square-foot fitness center and a 25,000-square-foot “active entertainment center” with ziplines and rock climbing. GlenStar had also proposed a Topgolf driving range, but village leaders vetoed that plan.

Glenstar owns the Chicago Board of Trade building at 141 West Jackson Boulevard and the office towers at 55 and 65 East Monroe Street, as well as a dozen other properties around Illinois and two in Texas.

Earlier this month, Rubenstein Partners paid $121.5 million to buy into Glenstar’s Continential Office Towers complex in Rolling Meadows, which Glenstar bought in 2013 for $58.5 million before spending $30 million on renovations.

Source: therealdeal.com

The Lincolnshire Village Board approved plans for a massive sports facility next to Interstate 94, a project that will include basketball and squash courts, an Olympic swimming pool, an indoor turf field and two ice rinks.

St. James plans to open the 450,000-square-foot complex on a 40-acre property at I-94 and Half Day Road formerly occupied by Medline. It would be the second sports and recreation facility for St. James, a recreation company that plans to open its first one outside Washington next month.

The property’s developer, Chicago-based GlenStar Properties, had proposed also building a Topgolf driving range on the site but dropped that plan amid opposition from Lincolnshire residents. Though some residents raised concerns about GlenStar’s revised plan, citing increased traffic and other issues, the village board approved the development last night.

“Our goal is to bring the premium, dynamic and scaled experience that is the St. James to every major market in the country,” St. James co-founder and co-CEO Craig Dixon said in a statement. “With our expansion to Chicago, people who are passionate about sports, wellness and active fun in two of the largest markets in the country will have an opportunity to pursue their passions in a wholly unique way.”

About the only thing missing from the project is a curling rink. Expected to open in 2020, the complex also will include batting cages, a gymnastics center, a climbing wall, fitness center, spa, water park and zip lines.

Source: chicagobusiness.com

The company purchased Continental Towers in a joint venture with GlenStar, the former owner of the property, which will remain as operating partner.

CT Acquisitions, a joint venture between Rubenstein Partners and GlenStar Properties, has acquired Continental Towers, a 910,796-square-foot office property in Rolling Meadows, Ill. The closing price was $121.5 million, more than twice the price GlenStar paid in 2013, Yardi Matrix data shows. The new owner announced more than $20 million in upcoming renovations, aiming to transform the asset into a top-of-the line office center in Northwest Chicago.

The upgrades will target the two-acre plaza deck, lobbies, café and amenity space. They follow several other improvements which GlenStar has been continuously adding to the property over the past five years, including building a parking garage for up to 734 vehicles, repositioning the entryway and renovating the fitness center, restrooms and corridor. According to Rubenstein, the total cost of improvements has mounted to $30 million. As a result, occupancy has increased from 55 to 90 percent, with companies such as Verizon and Panasonic signing the tenant roster. 

The suburban office center was completed in 1982 at 1701 Golf Road and encompasses three buildings, which are all LEED certified to the Silver level. In addition to the office segment, the property incorporates a 22,000-square-foot health club, as well as dining and retail space. The campus spans 34 acres and it can be accessed via Interstate 90. Woodfield Mall is located within 3 miles from the property, while O’Hare International Airport is 10 miles away.

In January, Rubenstein made another important office acquisition in the Midwest, by adding the $132.7 million Precedent Office Park to its portfolio. 

Source: cpexecutive.com