In brief: Banana buy | Ex-Sharpie plant | 208 S. LaSalle
Chocolate-banana firm buys building to expand
Diana's Bananas Inc. paid $1.18 million for a 30,529-square-foot industrial building on the West Side, where it will expand its chocolate-covered frozen banana manufacturing operation by 80%. The facility at 2733 W. Harrison St. will accommodate the Chicago-based company's growing business, which serves retailers nationwide. Diana's, which currently occupies just 6,000 square feet at 1631 W. Walnut St., will spend the next six to eight months renovating the Harrison Street building before relocating. Diana's also operates a manufacturing plant in Panama. Mark A. Nelson and his brother Michael D. Nelson of Paine/Wetzel ONCOR International represented Diana's in the sale, which closed Feb. 28. Nick Saraceno of Camins Tomasz Kritt LLC represented building owner Tomahawk Paper Products Corp.
First Industrial adds board member
Matthew S. Dominski, an owner of local real estate and investment firm Polaris Capital LLC, has been elected to the board of First Industrial Realty Trust Inc. Mr. Dominski previously was CEO of Urban Shopping Centers and continued as president after Rodamco North America bought the real estate investment trust in 2002, Chicago-based First Industrial said in a release. An independent director, he also held management positions at Chicago-based JMB Realty Corp., according to the release. The board currently has 10 members; First Industrial cofounder and largest shareholder Jay H. Shidler is retiring as a director in May.
Company looks to flip former Newell site
A Chicago company that specializes in environmentally troubled properties has purchased a former Sharpie pen plant in Bellwood with plans to flip it for a profit. Denovo Properties bought the two-building, 123,000-square-foot facility from Atlanta-based Newell Rubbermaid, which shut down production there in about 2004 and moved it to Tennessee. Denovo, which bought the property along with a Rockford facility, ascribed a value of $1.5 million to the Bellwood purchase, says Denovo CEO Brian Pitkin. The site has some minor soil contamination that is to be removed by this spring, says Mr. Pitkin, who declines to say how much the cleanup will cost. Grubb & Ellis Co. is marketing the property with an asking price of just under $3.1 million.
CBRE wins management of 208 S. LaSalle
CB Richard Ellis Inc. has taken over management of the office portion of 208 S. LaSalle St., where a 610-room J. W. Marriott hotel is to open this year on the first 12 floors of the 21-story building. The assignment began Feb. 1, and Paulette Westney is the senior property manager, CB Richard Ellis says in a release. Chicago-based Prime Group Inc. owns the building and is developing the hotel. Cushman & Wakefield Inc. formerly managed the building, while Prime continues to handle leasing duties.
