Chicago Cheat Sheet: Lululemon opening experiential flagship store on North Side…& more

Lululemon picks Chicago for experiential concept flagship

Ath-leisure brand Lululemon plans to open a new flagship store focusing on experiential retail on the North Side. The Canadian retailer’s new prototype concept will include food, drinks, yoga classes and a meditation room to go along with its workout clothes. The 20,000-square-foot store is set to open in July at 944 West North Avenue. It could become the model for some 10 percent of the chain’s locations. The building is owned by New York-based Acadia Realty Trust and Jenel Management Corporation. [Chicago Tribune]

Realty Income nabs sixth local Mariano’s

A San Diego-based real estate investment trust picked up its sixth Mariano’s grocery store building in the Chicago area. Realty Income bought the 62,000-square-foot Mariano’s at 625 South Main Street in Wheaton for $41.1 million. Realty Income bought the store from IM Properties, and now has spent $235 million on six of the grocery chain’s stores in the past two years. [Crain’s]

Another West Loop condo project moves ahead

The developers of a West Loop condo complex have started construction on the building, two months after formally launching sales. The 32-unit Eveq complex at 14 North Bishop Street is being developed by an entity tied to Chicago Pipefitters Local 597, which owns the property. The building is set to deliver in the third quarter of next year. @properties is the exclusive sales brokerage for the project. [REJournals]

Vacant retail big boxes hit record high in Chicago area

The amount of available anchor retail space in the Chicago area is at an all-time high. A new report from CBRE showed 15.7 million square feet of vacant anchor space up from the prior record of 12.8 million set last year. The amount of available anchor space has doubled since 2012, according to the report. [Crain’s]

Smooth move! Lubricant company consolidating into big industrial space in Chicago Heights

An Ohio-based lubricant company is consolidating four Chicago-area locations into a single facility in south suburban Chicago Heights. RelaDyne was formed in 2010 by the merger of four companies, and now it’s moving all its local facilities to a 185,000-square-foot former Ace Hardware paint factory at 290 East Joe Orr Road. The company secured a tax incentive on the property that will give it reduced assessments for the next 12 years. [Daily Southtown]