Boutique investment firm buys Wilmette mall amid partial conversion

UPDATED 10:26 a.m., Jan. 9, 2019: The Edens Plaza Shopping Center in Wilmette has sold for $72 million, months after village officials approved a plan to build out a large new medical center inside the complex.

The buyer was Newport Capital Partners, a Chicago-based real estate investment firm, according to property records.

Newport will take over a retail center once anchored by a 161,000-square-foot Carson’s department store, whose parent company filed for bankruptcy last year.

The seller — a joint-venture between Chicago firms 11 East Partners and Draper & Kramer — had signed a 10-year lease with NorthShore University HealthSystem in September.

NorthShore’s new facility, set to occupy the former Carson’s space, has an estimated cost of nearly $29 million, according to a village planning document.

“The addition of the new pediatric care center this year shows the plaza’s versatility in this ever-evolving asset class,” said Newport managing principal Derrick McGavic in a statement. He described the project as “a great example of repurposing vacant retail space.”

NorthShore’s lease states that Newport Capital will expect $83,000 a month from the firm by the end of their term in 2028.

LoanCore Capital funded the deal with a $50.5 million acquisition loan, arranged by Ben Greazel and Joel Simmons of Newmark Knight Frank.

Other retail tenants at the property include Bed Bath & Beyond, Walgreen’s and Five Guys.

Mall owners across the country have turned to conversions as a way to prop up their struggling assets, as retail bankruptcies and competition from e-commerce have left them with a glut of vacancies.