Chicago Cheat Sheet: Mall owner gets more time to pay off big debt … & more

Yorktown Center owner gets extension on $114M debt

The owner of the Yorktown Center mall received more time to pay off $114 million in maturing debt. New York-based KKR and California-based Pacific Retail Capital Partners bought the 1.4 million-square-foot mall in Lombard for $196 million in 2012. They refinanced it two years later for $185 million in debt, including a $134 million loan. The remaining $114 million balance of that loan was due March 9, but the owners secured a short-term extension. [Crain’s]

Medical tech firm opens Loop office after moving HQ to suburbs

Intelligent Medical Objects is opening a Loop office in the Inland Steel Building. The medical technology company leased a 13,000-square-foot space at 30 West Monroe Street after moving its headquarters to Rosemont from a WeWork location on State Street. Savills’ Jon Azulay, Robert Sevim and Adam Southard advised the company in the lease, while MBRE’s Mark Buth and Kelsey Morgan represented owner Capital Properties. Savills’ Rich Dale and Loredana Perri are overseeing the office build-out and relocation. [Connect Media]

Fulton Market improvements lead to major street closing

Getting around the booming Fulton Market neighborhood will be a little more complicated starting Monday, when the city closes Fulton Street between Aberdeen and May streets for streetscape improvements. The closure is part of the city’s $20 million project to improve the neighborhood with reclaimed granite at intersections, wider sidewalks, shorter pedestrian crossings at intersections and separate parking zones, among other improvements. The stretch won’t reopen until May 3. [Block Club]

Chicago losing ground to other city’s in Airbnb listings

Chicago has dropped to No. 12 on the list of top markets for Airbnb, two years after being the fifth-largest market for the short-term rental company. The city’s Airbnb listings increased just 3.9 percent in the past two years as warm-weather markets such as Miami, Las Vegas and the Orlando area gained more market share. Chicago’s short-term rental regulations took effect in summer 2017, making it harder for some residents to rent out their homes. [Crain’s]

Retailers could win free space in suburban mall

A South Barrington shopping center is holding a contest to give away pop-up retail space for four months. Retailers can enter the Arboretum’s “Battle of the Pop-Up” through April 19, and could win free space from July 1 to Oct. 31, plus free utilities and fixtures, and a $500 merchandising package. It’s the second year in a row the mall has held the contest. [Daily Herald]