Invesco notched two of the five priciest retail investment sales in Chicago this year, including the high-profile Apple store acquisition on Michigan Avenue.
Atlanta-based Invesco paid a combined $122 million for the two properties; the other one was a Mariano’s-anchored shopping center in Glen View.
Not surprisingly, the Apple store acquisition, at $78.5 million, was the biggest retail buy of 2019. All together, the five Chicago-area retail sales combined for $264.7 million.
The total far outpaced last year’s five biggest, which added up to $143 million.
The Real Deal compiled the 2019 list through an analysis of Cook County property records from January to early December.
1. 401 North Michigan Avenue | $78.5 million
Invesco’s January purchase of the 20,000-square-foot Apple flagship store on the Chicago River got the new year off to a flying start. The deal pencils out to $3,950 per square foot and marked the fifth-highest price paid ever for a Chicago retail property. Walton Street Capital was the seller. Invesco is acquiring the glass-enclosed property on behalf of an institutional investor.
The deal came less than a year after Chicago-based Walton Street sought to sell the Apple property and 10,000 square feet of retail space inside the adjacent 35-story office tower it owns for $175 million. Walton Street bought the tower and both properties for $370 million in 2017. The Apple store opened that October. This past May, Invesco also bought the 10,000-square-foot retail space for $11.2 million.
Apple reportedly pays roughly $125 per square foot, well below the typical $400 or $500 per square foot charged on the Magnificent Mile, the Wall Street Journal reported.
2. 1120-1130 North State Street | $61 million
Chicago-based Newcastle Limited’s purchase includes one of the last remaining Barnes & Noble stores. The October deal worked out to $2,392 per square foot.
Newcastle acquired the 25,500-square-foot property from trusts owned by David Blum and his Wilmette-based firm, Lawrence Management Company.
It’s unclear what Newcastle plans to do with the Near North Side property. The sale went through despite Newcastle withdrawing its initial plans to demolish the building and construct a 39-tower there, which would have included 368 units, 158 parking spots and retail space. The developer withdrew plans amid community opposition and opposition from Alderman Brian Hopkins.
The company is still planning an 11-story apartment complex with 95 units about a block away.
In February, Newcastle bought a 227-unit River West apartment complex for $85.5 million, the fifth priciest multifamily sale of 2019.
3. 2708-2940 Showplace Drive | $50 million
Cincinnati-based REIT Phillips Edison’s bought the 147,000-square-foot mall, called Naperville Crossings, from PGIM Real Estate.
The property is the largest retail building on the list. The April deal worked out to $340 per square foot.
Naperville Crossings is Phillips Edison’s 12th Chicago-area shopping center. It also has properties in Niles, Hoffman Estates and Glen Ellyn. The mall was developed about 15 years ago.
4. Glen Gate Shopping Center, 25 Waukegan Road | $43 million
Invesco Real Estate got a bargain. The firm picked up the 103,000-square-foot development in June, paying about 16 percent less than the price LaSalle Investment Management paid four years ago. Invesco’s deal pencils out at $420 per square foot for the property in Glenview.
Glen Gate is anchored by a Mariano’s grocery store. At the time of the sale, it was 100 percent leased, with other tenants including AT&T, Hair Cuttery and Glenview Bank & Trust. The strip mall opened in 2014.
5. 938-944 West North Avenue | $32 million
New York-based Feil Organization acquired the 32,000-square-foot retail building in Lincoln Park, whose anchor tenant is Lululemon. The September sale pegs the deal at just over $1,000 per square foot.
Acadia Realty Trust was the seller, unloading the property in July, shortly after Lulemon opened its flagship store there. The company takes 26,000 square feet. The other tenant, Sephora, occupies about 5,400 square feet.
Acadia and its venture partner, New York-based Jenel Management, paid about $20 million for the building in 2013.