An Insider's Guide to Commercial Real Estate In Chicago

Evanston, IL Apartment Building

Building Equity RE LLC COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE SERVICES               Just Closed! Bank Owned                   Apartment Building           From Building Equity RE LLC 2321 Central Evanston, IL  Evanston Six Unit Apartment Building Sold in 30 DAYS! - Large Two Bedroom Units - New Roof - New Windows - 12,600 sf Land - RE Taxes = $21,488 Building Equity specializes in commercial investment sales and advisory services on behalf of private owners and institutions in the Chicago area. We provide a full range of services, including leasing and sales, distressed-asset sales, receivership, 1031 and TIC transactions, due diligence, marketing, and asset management. Building Equity offers clients the resources and expertise of a large firm with the personal attention of a one-on-one advisor.  Building Equity Real Estate was established in 2006 to deliver customized solutions, with a high level of service, to commercial real estate owners, investors, and financial institutions.  In 2008, Building Equity brokered $50 million in commercial real estate transactions including one the largest retail-portfolio deals of the year on Chicago's northside. Building Equity has completed dozens of REO transactions on the behalf of banks and other financial institutions throughout the Chicagoland area.  Sincerely,   Peter Lynn CCIM & Dan Rosenberg Building Equity Real Estate LLC Distressed Asset Services REO Disposition Asset Valuation (BPO/BOV) Receivership Asset Preservation Property Management Note Sales Short Sales   Building Equity RE LLC 3047 N.Lincoln #400 Chicago, IL 60657 773.292.5188 www.buildingequityre.com plynn@buildingequityre.com

 

Bank Owned Commercial Real Estate in Evanston IL

Bank Owned Evanston Office Building

1732 Central St., Evanston, IL 60201

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• Price:
  $659,000
• Building Size:
  4,750 SF
• Price/SF:
  $138.74
• Property Type:
  Office
• Property Sub-type:
  Office Building
• Property Use Type:
  Vacant/Owner-User
• Distressed:
  Yes
• No. Stories:
  1
• Year Built:
  1958
• Lot Size:
  0.17 AC
• Find Out More...

Last Verified  9/28/2010 Listing ID  16852425

Highlights

• Bank Owned
• Fully Built Out Office Space
• Ideal Owner/User Opportunity

• Great NW Evanston Location
• Steps from Metra Station
• On Site Parking

Description

The subject property is a single story fully built out office building. The build out includes: ten private offices, conference room, reception area, two baths, kitchen, storage area, and open office cubicle space. There is parking for approximately ten cars at the rear of the building. Building is completely wired for phone and internet. Turn key space for owner/user.

The subject property is located on Central St. just west of the Metra train station in Northwest Evanston.

Chicago Apartment Building Outlook For South Shore Neighborhood

Apartment building values in Chicago's South Shore neighborhood peaked in 2005-2006 at $55,000/unit.  Today these buildings are trading on the low end at $10,000/unit and the high end $30,000/unit.  Talk to active South Shore investors and the name of the game is all in for $30,000/unit.  You can buy a vacant apartment building at $10,000/unit and put $20,000/unit into the building.  Or you can buy a brand new apartment building for $30,000/unit.  At Building Equity RE, we believe we're bouncing at the bottom of the market with a potential for South Shore values to decline another $5,000/unit.  Investors looking to buy apartment buildings in Chicago's South Shore neighborhood can take the plunge now.  Be patient while looking for the right deal and look for well managed buildings with a solid tenant base.  Make sure collections match rent roll.  Call BERE for more details.

		Peter Lynn & Dan Rosenberg Building Equity Commercial Real Estate Web:: buildingequityre.com Email:: solutions@buildingequityre.com Phone:: 773.292.5188

Andersonville Commercial Real Estate: Retail Neighborhood Mom-and-Pops Resilient in the Face of Recession

This month we’re taking a look at commercial investment real estate in Chicago’s Andersonville retail corridor, which runs along Clark Street, approximately from Foster to Bryn Mawr. Like many of the urban retail strips on Chicago’s North Side (Southport in Lakeview, Halsted/Armitage in Lincoln Park and Damen Avenue in Bucktown/Wicker Park), Andersonville has seen commercial rents and property values soar in recent years. But unlike those corridors, Andersonville hasn’t experienced an influx of national retailers, save for Starbucks and a small (8 locations) burger franchise called Hamburger Mary’s. Furthermore, Andersonville doesn’t have the infrastructure advantages of Southport, Damen or Armitage. There’s no direct ‘L’ access, parking is abysmal, and it’s far from the Loop.

That makes Andersonville somewhat of an enigma. With a mix of almost 100% mom-and-pop retailers, Andersonville has maintained retail rents in the $25-to-$30-per-square-foot range for in-line space and the $40-to-$45-per-square-foot range for corner space. In addition, occupancy levels have remained stable despite the economy.

For this reason commercial investment property in Andersonville has begun to attract serious money. Case in point: last year, we represented local investors, RayMark Venture LLC, in the $22.5 million sale of a multi-building retail/mixed use portfolio. (RayMark nearly doubled its investment in just five years). The buyer was a $500-million institutional-advisory fund targeting urban retail real estate in Chicago.

One could argue that Andersonville is supported by a fiercely loyal resident base, but the reality is that its shops and restaurants could not survive on neighborhood traffic alone. So what’s the key to Andersonville’s urban retail success, and why has the neighborhood’s commercial real estate held up so well in a down economy? Holler at us if you have an opinion.

Peter Lynn & Dan Rosenberg
		Building Equity Commercial Real Estate Web:: buildingequityre.com Email:: solutions@buildingequityre.com Phone:: 773.292.5188

Checking In: Commercial Real Estate in Chicago's Southport Corridor

One of Chicago's Hottest Commercial Retail Strips Has Cooled Off Considerably. Will It Heat Up Again? As recently as last summer, the Southport Corridor was widely considered one of the hottest neighborhood retail strips in Chicago. Asking rents peaked around $48 - $50 per square foot for inline space and $60 - $65 for corners. Today those rents are back down around 2005 levels: $30 to $38 psf for inline and $50 psf for corners. And there’s no shortage of available space. On a recent morning we counted 21 vacant storefronts, including prime corner space, on Southport between Byron and Henderson. Boutiques and sit-down restaurants are having a particularly tough go of it while daily needs mainstays like bars, salons, coffee shops and “fast casual” restaurants seem to be faring a little better. So what does the future hold for the Chicago Southport Corridor? Is Southport destined to become “the Armitage of Lakeview”, an outcome investors aggressively bet on last year? Or will it merely continue as a quaint offshoot of Wrigleyville? Will we see renewed interest from national brands? Or is Southport better suited to mom and pop tenants and the down to earth rents they command? We want to hear from you. Let us know what you think.

Peter Lynn & Dan Rosenberg
		Building Equity Chicago Commercial Real Estate  Web:: buildingequityre.com Email:: solutions@buildingequityre.com Phone:: 773.292.5188

Apartment Investment in Kenwood: A Solid Commercial Real Estate Play on Chicago’s South Side

People in Kenwood and Hyde Park on Chicago’s South Side are already talking about the “Obama Effect” - an increase in Chicago commercial real estate values expected to result from Barack Obama’s ascent from a Georgian on Greenwood to the White House on Pennsylvania Avenue. Maybe it’ll happen; maybe not. But high occupancy and a stable rent roll make this 49-unit apartment building on Drexel Boulevard a solid commercial investment property no matter who's in office.

Located at 4408-4412 S. Drexel Blvd., the courtyard building is over 90-percent occupied, and features a high-visibility location on the boulevard, a new boiler and water heater and four new porches. It’s currently generating $420,000 in gross annual income, and a buyer is likely to find some upside in rents.

With everyone scouring the landscape for distressed real estate deals, here is a stabilized asset that can balance out a diversified portfolio or provide a great opportunity to trade up. In addition, its strong fundamentals should make this a relatively easy deal to finance for the qualified investor.

Contact us for more information and to set up a showing.

Peter Lynn & Dan Rosenberg
		Building Equity Chicago Commercial Real Estate Web:: buildingequityre.com Email:: solutions@buildingequityre.com Phone:: 773.292.5188

Broker’s Role Includes Dirty Work of Securing Chicago Distressed Real Estate

If you’re an Chicago property asset manager overseeing the disposition of commercial REO property today, you’d better hope your broker not only has the skills to prospect and sell, but also the wherewithal to do what it takes (and we mean whatever it takes) to stabilize distressed real estate. If that means stepping into the role of de facto property manager, garbage man, community liaison and/or cop, then so be it. At Building Equity Commercial Real Estate Chicago, we’re quite comfortable doing the dirty work that goes along with distressed asset sales. 

Here are three rules that guide us in stabilizing distressed commercial real estate property:

Rule #1:  Time is Money 

Every minute distressed real estate isn’t being managed, it’s losing value. That’s value lost because of uncollected rent, deferred maintenance, vandalism and, these days, because of downward price pressure from the market. Getting a property under control quickly stops the financial bleeding and is a vital precursor to any marketing program.

Rule #2:  Make a Friend

 The most challenging aspect of dealing with foreclosures is by far the human element. Not paying attention to the people in and around a Chicago distressed property is a recipe for disaster. So when we step into a distressed sale, the first thing we do is gather as much information as possible about tenants, squatters, neighbors and anyone else who comes into contact with the building. By communicating with people, we can usually identify an “advocate” to tell us about problems and let us know of any hidden obstacles to securing and selling the property.

Rule #3:  Take Ownership

 There’s no playbook for a lot of the situations we encounter. We recently took a listing for an apartment building in Grand Crossing on Chicago’s South Side where scavengers ripped out the copper pipes causing the whole first floor to flood. When they realized the steam radiators were too heavy to haul down the stairs, they threw them out the windows, breaking the sidewalk below. This wasn’t a situation where we could wait around for the out-of-state asset manager to approve work orders. So we took ownership. We fronted the money to hire a board-up service, locksmith and dumpster service, and flagged down landscapers from a neighboring property to mow the overgrown lawn. We worked with the remaining tenants and got the property to the point where it could be shown and, as it turns out, successfully sold.

The bottom line is, as a Chicago commercial real estate broker, we have to look at an propery asset as if we own it, and do what needs to be done to mitigate opportunities for loss and maximize opportunities for gain.

Peter Lynn & Dan Rosenberg
		Building Equity Chicago Commercial Real Estate Web:: buildingequityre.com Email:: solutions@buildingequityre.com Phone:: 773.292.5188

New Listing Is Ideal Metaphor for Commercial Investment Real Estate Market

Building Equity was recently hired to sell the building that houses the Museum of Holography, 1134 W. Washington Blvd, in Chicago’s West Loop.

A hologram, according to our friends at Wikipedia, is “an image that changes as the position and orientation of the viewing system changes, in exactly the same way as if the object was still present, thus making the recorded image appear three dimensional.”

Or, simply put, it’s a picture that looks like it’s moving, even though it’s not.

We were wondering if it was fate or just coincidence that we landed this assignment while wading through a commercial investment real estate market that’s doing more or less the same thing. Staying on top of the market today is a challenge; and like a hologram, just when you think you know what you’re looking at, the picture changes.

Take Chicago’s traditionally strong neighborhood retail corridors for example: Southport in Lakeview, Halsted and Armitage in Lincoln Park, Clark Street in Andersonville. Properties here were trading at 6 caps last summer, but today buyers are balking at 8 caps. The big players have been on the sidelines for months and, the better the deals get, the more patient these buyers become.

In an industry where change has typically been gradual, the correction is coming hard and fast, and there’s a growing sense out there that we’re only in the third inning of a nine-inning game. Commercial real estate, like stock prices, is being marked to market on a daily basis. Last year’s, month’s or week’s comps hold little sway over the economic news and buyer sentiment of the moment.

So if you’re an owner and you have to sell, then price to sell. Or, like a hologram, the picture will change before you know it.

The museum, by the way, is housed in a 3-story, 20,000-square-foot, all-masonry building, a block and a half west of Oprah Winfrey’s Harpo Studios. The building has 5,000 square feet per floor, 12-foot ceilings and many loft-like features. It’s a great redevelopment opportunity for an investor or owner/user.

Peter Lynn & Dan Rosenberg
		Building Equity Commercial Real Estate Web:: buildingequityre.com Email:: solutions@buildingequityre.com Phone:: 773.292.5188