Clarion Partners buys Naperville shopping center for $29M

Clarion Partners bought a Naperville shopping center for $29.3 million, giving seller Savas Er a tidy profit in the deal.

New York-based Clarion bought the 58,000-square-foot River Square property at 22 East Chicago Avenue from Er, principal at Schaumburg-based North American Real Estate who paid $16.8 million for it four-and-a-half years ago, according to Crain’s.

Er said rents have risen in downtown Naperville, which allowed him to re-lease much of River Square at higher rates, boosting his income and the value of the property. The property was fully leased when Er bought it, but some tenants moved out, allowing him to bring in new ones at higher rents, he said.

Mid-America Real Estate’s Joe Girard brokered the sale.

The success at River Square stands in contrast to the Chicago-area retail market overall, with vacancy rates hitting their highest point since 2010 this year, despite shrinking vacancies inside the city.

Er told Crain’s he owns about 25 properties in the Chicago area and wants to buy more. North American Real Estate recently paid $20 million for the Woodgrove Festival, a 158,000-square-foot shopping center on 75th Street Woodridge.

Elsewhere in downtown Naperville, Marquette Companies recently secured a $56 million bridge loan on the Water Street District, a mixed-use development on the riverfront. [Crain’s] — John O’Brien