In brief: Pilsen lease | Office condo sale | Green Courte deal
New employment center to open in Pilsen
Employment and training agency National Able Network plans to open a 22,000-square-foot Able Workforce Center this summer in a former Goldblatt's store in the Pilsen neighborhood. The center, which will provide services for job seekers and businesses, will be on the top two floors of the building at 1700 W. 18th St., which is owned by local investors including David Duckler and Patrick Kane. The agency is moving from a 15,000-square-foot center at 18th Street and Blue Island Avenue, which will close after the new location opens. The lease is for 11 years, says David O. Stein, managing principal at Chicago-based Steinco Inc., which represented National Able and will provide design and project management for the buildout.
First closing slated in suburban office condo
A suburban development firm is scheduled to close next week on the sale of almost a third of a recently finished office condominium building in northwest suburban Lake Barrington. The sale of the 18,000-square-foot unit to a physicians' group will be the first closing in the building, says Dale Bianco, a principal at Arlington Heights-based G23 Development, the property's developer. Another 12,000-square-foot unit also is under contract, Mr. Bianco says. The 64,184-square-foot building at 28160 W. Northwest Highway was finished in December.
Bill would limit payment holdbacks
A bill in the Illinois Senate would limit how much money a developer could hold back from contractors and subcontractors pending completion of a project. The bill would limit the amount to 5% of the project cost and 2.5% after it is half done. Developers customarily hold back 10% of the cost pending completion. The House passed the bill 112 to 1 last month. "The bill will allow contractors to free up needed funds to enable them to complete projects on time and to hire employees on a more timely basis," State Rep. Lou Lang, D-Skokie, who sponsored the bill in the House, says in an e-mail. Attorney Joshua Glazov, a partner in law firm DLA Piper's construction group, says the bill gives a contractor less incentive to finish a project.
Green Courte completes acquisition
Lake Forest-based real estate investment firm Green Courte Partners LLC on Monday completed its $114-million acquisition of American Land Lease Inc., a Florida-based real estate investment trust that owns retirement communities. American Land Lease's stockholders approved the deal at a special meeting Monday, and the closing took place afterward, Green Courte said.
