Chicago Cheat Sheet: Auto products maker steers big industrial lease…& more

Auto part maker signs 354K-sf lease in Bolingbrook

Old World Industries will lease all of a 354,000-square-foot industrial building in Bolingbrook. The automotive and chemical company will occupy Duke Realty Corporation’s building at 605 West Crossroads Parkway, one of 14 owned by the company in the Interstate 55 submarket. Britt Casey of Cushman & Wakefield represented Old World Industries, best known for the PEAK brand of motor oil, antifreeze and other products. Jeff Fischer and John Whitehead of NAI Hiffman represented Duke Realty. [REJournals]

NEMA Chicago set to debut South Loop rentals

Crescent Heights plans to welcome the first residents to its NEMA Chicago apartment tower on May 1. The nearly 900-foot building at 1200 South Indiana Avenue will be the tallest all-residential building in the city. The building will add 800 luxury units to the increasingly crowded South Loop apartment market, and rents will run from around $1,800 a month for a studio to $25,000 for a four-bedroom. [Chicago Magazine]

More good news for Downtown office market

A new report from CBRE showed the Downtown office vacancy rate fell to 12.9 percent in the first quarter, down from 13.4 percent the previous quarter. The figure represents the best vacancy rate for the area since the end of 2016. Net absorption in the first quarter was 525,000 square feet, besting the 415,000 square feet of net absorption for all of 2018, the report said. [Crain’s]

As apartments move in, youth sports group moving into old Bulls training center

Deerfield officials approved Gateway Fairview’s plans to build 246 apartments on the western edge of the Deerbrook Shopping Center at Lake Cook and Waukegan roads in 2017. The Residences of Deerbrook project will require the demolition of the building where NTB Tire and Service Center, Brunswick Zone and Joy of the Game were located. Joy of the Game, which hosts a number of youth travel sports, is staying in Deerfield, moving into the Chicago Bulls’ former Berto Center practice facility. REVA Development Partners is developing the Residences of Deerbrook. [Deerfield Review]

KPMG bolstering Aon Center space with “Ignition Center”

KPMG added a 30,000-square-foot space on the 68th floor of the Aon Center to advise clients on data science, artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies. The company already occupied 250,000 square feet in the 601W Companies-owned skyscraper. The so-called Ignition Center opened Tuesday, and is KPMG’s seventh. [Chicago Tribune]