CHICAGO (Oct. 29, 2024) — Chicago-based Glenstar, a national commercial real estate developer, owner and operator, and a private investor have recapitalized Presidents Plaza, a two-tower, highly amenitized office complex near O’Hare International Airport in an all-cash sales transaction that closed on Oct. 22.

In addition to purchasing the 831,442-square-foot complex for $62 million, Glenstar and its equity partner have set aside capital to fund tenant improvements, in addition to allocating nearly $16M to build spec suites along with upgrading amenities and common areas at the office property located at 8600-8700 W. Bryn Mawr Ave., in the O’Hare submarket.

“Unlike many office owners in today’s market, we are eager to help fund modern tenant improvement buildouts and amenity upgrades because we know they are critical for companies to attract top-level talent,” said Michael Klein, co-founder & managing principal of Glenstar. “With no debt on the property there are no lender constraints, and we will be creative with lease negotiations to solve tenant needs.”

The availability of capital allows tenant improvement projects to move forward quickly, as they will be insulated from interest-rate pressures and cash constraints. Spec suites will include the latest in-demand features such as open ceilings, collaborative working spaces and conference rooms with state-of-the-art audiovisual equipment.

“Companies want to be in top-tier buildings with modern, collaborative spaces,” Klein said. “Our recapitalization and upcoming capital improvements will ensure Presidents Plaza holds its title as the most highly amentized office asset in suburban Chicago.”

Initial plans call for a golf simulator and common area improvements to round out the abundant number of amenities added during the $34 million renovation of the property. The property upgrades included a redevelopment of the three-story atrium lobby, three-level health club, fully renovated lounge, café with full seating and 6,300-square-foot conference center facility. The property won the International TOBY for Renovated Building in 2022.

The Glenstar property management team will continue serving tenants on-site and via Glenstar Connect, an app-based platform to improve the tenant experience by connecting tenants with community-building events.

Presidents Plaza is centrally located at the four-way intersection of Cumberland Avenue and I-90 and offers direct access to public transportation on the CTA Blue Line, allowing tenants to recruit from both the suburbs and the city. The property is also surrounded by dining, entertainment and retail venues.

Dan Deuter, Tom Sitz and Cody Hundertmark of Cushman & Wakefield represented the seller in the Oct. 22 sales transaction. Glenstar has served as the property and asset manager of the complex since 2006.

About Glenstar:

Glenstar is a Chicago-based national commercial real estate firm specializing in industrial development, reimagined office and multifamily properties. Founded in 2004 by Michael Klein, along with Rand Diamond, Glenstar has successfully developed or redeveloped more than $2 billion in commercial space comprising 10 million square feet across the U.S. Its nimble, tenant-focused approach and vertically integrated structure allow Glenstar not only to pursue and execute opportunistic projects, but also to oversee and manage them seamlessly.

GAFFNEY, S.C. (August 6, 2024) – Developer Glenstar Logistics today announced it has gone vertical on CCC-85 Building 2, a cross-docked 550,520-square-foot building at its new Cherokee Commerce Center 85 (CCC-85) immediately adjacent to Interstate 85 in Upstate South Carolina’s Cherokee County industrial corridor. After starting work last October, concrete panels are now being tilted up into place for the building’s exterior walls.

Slated for completion in Q4 2024, CCC-85 Building 2 is being built on a speculative basis with the flexibility to expand to 1.3 million square feet. The building will feature 40-foot clear heights, 56-feet-by-50-feet column spacing, 60-foot speed bays, up to 232 dock doors, four drive-in doors, up to 604 auto parking and 388 trailer spaces. Potential uses include warehousing and distribution, food processing, assembly/light manufacturing and refrigeration/cold storage.

“With supply chains stabilized, tenants have more time to carefully select the best sites and the most functional space for their business needs,” said Brian Netzky, managing principal of Glenstar Logistics. “CCC-85 will check all the right boxes for many firms with its location along I-85; access to Cherokee County’s skilled workforce along with tier 4 employee incentives; and proximity to electric vehicle, battery and semiconductor factories and dense populations of e-commerce consumers.”

Located at the four-way highly-amenitized I-85/Highway 105 interchange in Gaffney, S.C., CCC-85 sits directly across I-85 from Boysen’s manufacturing plant, which supplies BMW’s manufacturing facility 31 miles away in Spartanburg; a Freightliner Custom Chassis manufacturing plant; and a Nestlé USA frozen food factory. The park is 25 minutes from Inland Port Greer and 30 minutes from Charlotte MSA. From CCC-85, tenants can reach 135+ million consumers within a one-day drive.

“The functional design of the facilities and the layout of the park optimize flexibility, whether a tenant needs a massive amount of parking or lots of outdoor storage,” Netzky said. “The park’s abundant power, water and sewer capabilities also meet the needs of today’s high-tech industrial sector.”

CCC-85 will offer a superior utility profile including a power capacity of up to 54 megawatts. Distributors at the park will benefit from the recently widened I-85 from four to six lanes and a signalized primary entrance for ease of access/exit. Upon full buildout, the 290-acre park will include five buildings totaling up to 3.6 million square feet.

South Carolina’s population expanded by 1.7% to 5.4 million residents in 2023, making it the fastest-growing state last year, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

“Cherokee County is pro-business, with government officials eager to help companies maximize their ROI through incentives,” Netzky said. “We’re bullish on the I-85 corridor and its future growth.”

Glenstar Logistics’ partners at CCC-85 include capital partner Creek Lane Capital, general contractor The Conlan Company, architect Ware Malcomb and civil engineer SeamonWhiteside, with CrossHarbor Capital Partners supplying $38.2 million in construction financing. John Montgomery, Garrett Scott, Brockton Hall and Dillon Swayngim of the Spartanburg office of Colliers are marketing the building on behalf of ownership.

About Glenstar Logistics: 

Glenstar Logistics, the industrial arm of Glenstar, develops and invests in state-of-the-art warehouse, distribution and manufacturing facilities primarily in the southeast region of the United States. Headquartered in Chicago, Glenstar Logistics leverages decades-long relationships with local brokers, logisticians and end users to provide a unique insight on key factors tenants evaluate when making site selections. With 400+ acres currently under control, the team combines decades of real estate experience and proprietary third-party data analytics to direct every aspect of the development process with the end user in mind.

CHICAGO (June 13, 2024) — Chicago-based Glenstar, a national commercial real estate developer, owner and property manager, today announced it has launched Strategic Office Operator Services to assist third-party owners of Class A offices in increasing net operating income and overall asset value through strategic planning, enhanced tenant recruitment and retention, improved operating efficiencies and proactive management. Bringing more than 20 years of experience in successfully redeveloping, owning and operating office assets, Glenstar initially plans to work with lenders, investors, special servicers and receivers who are in the process of revaluating business plans for office assets in Chicago, Dallas and surrounding markets.

To lead this new strategic initiative, Glenstar announced it has named Adam Parritz as Director. A 10-year commercial real estate veteran, Parritz most recently served as asset manager at Värde Partners, a global alternative investment firm, where he co-managed a real estate limited partner equity and debt portfolio with a combined value of over $4 billion.

“With so much uncertainty in the market and so few buyers right now, many owners and lenders with office properties need advice on what to do with their assets – or they know what to do but are not staffed for it,” said Parritz. “This is what we live and breathe. Using our experience as owners that have successfully turned around multiple properties in different markets across the country, we can advise others on the strategies that will generate revenue, drive tenant satisfaction and create value. We will help them sleep better at night knowing their properties are in good hands.”

Glenstar will develop comprehensive business plans customized to clients’ properties and specific balance sheets. They will assess each property and identify what and how much to invest in it; create a leasing strategy; negotiate leases; identify and carry out capital improvements; and assist in dispositions of the property when the time is right. Through its vertically integrated structure combining property management, asset management and strategic oversight, Glenstar will see all activities through to execution, adjusting as needed based on changing market factors.

In his previous position at Värde, Parritz led asset management, workouts and disposition efforts for several properties, achieving significant cost savings, returns and value enhancement. He also collaborated with internal and external stakeholders to execute strategies, negotiate contracts and oversee operations. Prior to that, Parritz was a vice president and asset manager at Singerman Real Estate, where he contributed to the acquisition, disposition and management of over $1 billion of real estate assets.

“Adam’s depth of experience aligns with our commitment to bring our proven redevelopment, repositioning and value-creating approaches to properties beyond those we have an ownership stake in,” said Michael Klein, co-founder and managing principal of Glenstar. “He is an expert at identifying properties that may be changing ownership. For large office properties in today’s challenging market, his unique abilities enable the prompt implementation of strategies that will add value.”

“Glenstar is known for creating the kind of office environments tenants want to be in through the right mix of amenity offerings, tenant engagement programs and attentive service,” Parritz said. “My background in asset managing commercial properties combined with Glenstar’s decades of ownership expertise and reputation for adding value make a great combination for driving strategic growth in asset management.”

Glenstar manages nearly 6 million square feet of commercial property in the Chicago and Dallas markets. One of Glenstar’s recent successes in providing asset and property management services includes Triangle Plaza near Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport. In June 2023, Värde Partners retained Glenstar to provide asset, property and construction management services for the two 14-story towers totaling 636,000 square feet. In the first year of Glenstar’s stewardship, following the implementation of numerous strategic efficiencies, Triangle Plaza’s NOI increased by 10%, or $650,000. “We have seen improvement in our dealings in the building since Glenstar took over,” said Tom Payne, manager, office service, Komatsu, a company that occupies 80,000 square feet at Triangle Plaza. “Things have been better and more proactive with Glenstar.”

About Glenstar:

Glenstar is a Chicago-based national commercial real estate firm specializing in industrial development, reimagined office and multifamily properties. Founded in 2004 by Michael Klein, along with Rand Diamond, Glenstar has successfully developed or redeveloped more than $2 billion in commercial space comprising 10 million square feet across the U.S. Its nimble, tenant-focused approach and vertically integrated structure allow Glenstar not only to pursue and execute opportunistic projects, but also to oversee and manage them seamlessly.

WESTLAKE, Texas / CHICAGO (May 6, 2024) – Chicago-based Glenstar, a national commercial real estate developer, owner and property manager, will host a public grand opening of Terra Lounge, a bar and restaurant at The Terraces in Westlake, Texas, from 4-8pm on May 14-16  . Located at the back of The Terraces, at 1500 Solana Blvd., Terra Lounge formerly was only for tenants of The Terraces, an eight-building, 1.1 million-square-foot office complex between Dallas and Fort Worth. But it will now be open to the public, serving neighboring office buildings and communities including Westlake, Trophy Club, Southlake, Roanoke and beyond.

Managed by San Antonio, Texas-based ISS Guckenheimer, Terra Lounge is a 2,400-square-foot bar/restaurant that can accommodate 99 patrons. The venue offers a wide range of beer, wine and mixed drinks, as well as appetizers and gourmet pizzas. Terra Lounge’s premium cocktails range from the Platinum Paloma with Casamigos Blanco tequila, fresh lime juice and ruby red grapefruit soda to a smoked cherry old fashioned. During the grand opening week, guests will enjoy drink specials, live music from local artist, Chet Stevens, and giveaways.

“We’ve had success in attracting people from the offices around us; now, we want to open the doors to more of our neighbors,” said Kristi Layton, Glenstar’s vice president and general manager of The Terraces. “Westlake has very few restaurants in town, so we’d like to see Terra Lounge become the ‘Cheers’ of the neighborhood, where people can gather as a community, play a game of bocce, hear some music, and just relax and connect with co-workers, friends and neighbors.”

The intimate, tranquil interior of Terra Lounge includes a fireplace, wood-paneled walls, copper bartop and comfortable lounge seating. A second-level game room offers pool, ping-pong and shuffleboard. An adjacent pet-friendly patio with shaded seating allows bar patrons to take their drinks outside and enjoy the weather.

Glenstar completed a $25 million revitalization of The Terraces in 2021, reimagining a campus built in the 1980s for IBM into a corporate setting more attractive to today’s vibrant, collaborative and creative workforce. The Terraces now includes approximately 50,000 square feet of enhanced amenities, including a full-service restaurant; state-of-the-art fitness facility with luxurious locker rooms; multiple indoor and outdoor seating/collaboration areas with firepits, hammocks and bocce ball courts; a large technologically advanced tenant conference facility; and covered parking.

Terra Lounge is open Monday through Thursday from noon to 8 p.m. and Fridays from noon to 5 p.m. The bar is closed on weekends.

Located 11 miles west of the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, Westlake is one of the most affluent towns in Texas with a median household income of $250,000+, according to U.S. Census data. Situated midway between Dallas and Fort Worth, Westlake and the surrounding communities have an average weekday population of nearly 35,000 people, including residents and employees.

About Glenstar:

Glenstar is a Chicago-based national commercial real estate firm specializing in industrial development, reimagined office and multifamily properties. Founded in 2004 by Michael Klein, along with Rand Diamond, Glenstar has successfully developed or redeveloped more than $2 billion in commercial space comprising 10 million square feet across the U.S. Its nimble, tenant-focused approach and vertically integrated structure allow Glenstar not only to pursue and execute opportunistic projects, but also to oversee and manage them seamlessly.

WESTLAKE, Texas / CHICAGO (April 9, 2024) — Chicago-based Glenstar, a national commercial real estate developer, owner and property manager, today announced it executed two new leases totaling nearly 31,000 square feet at The Terraces, an eight-building, 1.1 million-square-foot office complex at 1500 Solana Blvd. in Westlake, Texas, between Dallas and Fort Worth. ECI Software Solutions took occupancy of its space last month, and Weider Health and Fitness will move into space at the extensively redeveloped office park in May.

“These leases reflect the trend of companies relocating to top-tier buildings with abundant amenities in desirable locations,” said Mickey Stefan, principal of Glenstar Properties. “At The Terraces as well as in all our office parks, we focus on creating the modern, collaborative environments that attract top-level talent.”

Glenstar completed a $25 million renovation of The Terraces, originally built for IBM, in 2021 to meet today’s need for more collaborative, aesthetically pleasing and welcoming corporate environments. The revitalized campus brings almost 50,000 square feet of highly desirable amenities, including a full-service restaurant, an upscale lounge with operating bar service, multiple indoor and outdoor seating/collaboration areas with firepits, bocce ball courts, a large technologically advanced tenant conference facility, a large state-of-the-art fitness facility with luxurious locker rooms and covered parking.

The renovation has proven successful: Since the pandemic began, Glenstar has completed 310,000 SF in new leases and 270K SF square feet of renewals at The Terraces.

“Our investment has paid off already, and we’re optimistic for the future of the Dallas-Fort Worth office market,” Stefan said. “From what we’re seeing, office tenants continue their in-market flight-to-quality relocations, and we will see new-to-market occupiers as well. Our two recent leases reflect this trend, as they include a move by local firm ECI and the relocation of Weider from California.”

ECI Software Solutions

Glenstar executed a 25,468-square-foot lease for the world headquarters of ECI, a provider of cloud-based software for small- and mid-sized businesses. Following an extensive tenant buildout, ECI took occupancy of the entire fifth floor of Building 6 at The Terraces. The company, which has offices in 14 countries and eight U.S. cities, previously was based in Fort Worth’s Alliance Corridor, where it occupied 48,000 square feet in a less finished and amenitized space.

“With our 100% hybrid policy, we needed a smaller, more intimate space that’s bright, warm, well-amenitized and helps us ‘earn the commute’ of our employees,” said Andrew Pryor, Chief Human Resources Officer at ECI. “Our office and the campus foster our warm, friendly, personable culture. You don’t have to be chained to your desk; you can take your phone calls at a picnic table or in a hammock. For a recent meeting, we sat around an outdoor firepit, and for larger meetings, we use the conference center. We love the campus and all that it brings to us.”

Pritchard Associates, along with Glenstar Properties’ Kristi Layton, managed the tenant buildout construction process, while RTTX Construction acted as GC, which included creating private offices, open shared spaces, unique gathering spaces and breakout areas, for the firm. ECI has 216 employees in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. Of those, 66 have committed to coming in on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and are assigned a dedicated desk. If an employee wants to come into the office for a day, they can use one of several hotel desks in ECI’s space.

“The aesthetic is modern and intimate with lots of glass,” Pryor said. “100% of employees now have access to windows and open spaces. We built in sound masking so you don’t feel overwhelmed by noise. We have banks of booths, multiple hoteling desks and eight different break-out spaces. All interior walls are glass, and the interior offices of executives are 100% open. We felt it was necessary to create a space that allows collaboration and creativity to make the most of the time employees have together.”

Weider Health and Fitness

Weider Health and Fitness, the holding company for Gallery 19C and Weider Global Nutrition, will be moving its office from Woodland Hills, Calif., into a 5,500-square-foot space at The Terraces in May. Weider Health and Fitness owner Eric Weider, a collector of 19^th century European paintings, had relocated Gallery 19C to 3,358 square feet in Building 5 of The Terraces last year, and the positive experience convinced him to move the holding company to The Terraces as well.

“I was really impressed with the look and feel of the campus, the amenities, the management and staff, and the feeling of security,” said Weider. “I like the proximity to the airport, the freeway and local amenities such as hotels and restaurants in nearby Westlake and Southlake.”

Located 11 miles west of the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport and situated midway between the premier business districts of Dallas and Fort Worth, The Terraces provides immediate access to a dense and talented employee base.

Jeff Eckert represented ownership in the ECI Software Solutions lease while Stephen Rury of Colliers represented the tenant. For the Weider Health and Fitness lease, Haley Hullet represented ownership. Offices at The Terraces are being leased by Jeff Eckert, Blake Shipley, Frank Taylor and Haley Hullet of the Dallas office of JLL.

About Glenstar:

Glenstar Properties is a Chicago-based national commercial real estate firm specializing in industrial development, reimagined office and multifamily properties. Founded in 2004 by Michael Klein, along with Rand Diamond, Glenstar has successfully developed or redeveloped more than $2 billion in commercial space comprising 10 million square feet across the U.S. Its nimble, tenant-focused approach and vertically integrated structure allow Glenstar not only to pursue and execute opportunistic projects, but also to oversee and manage them seamlessly.