DLC, Crow Holdings, Temerity Buy Suburban Chicago Retail

A suburban Chicago shopping center traded hands for $61.7 million just before the New Year, despite retail’s bumpy recovery from the pandemic.

A joint venture between DLC Management, Crow Capital Holdings and Temerity Strategic Partners bought the 314,800-square-foot Danada Square West in Wheaton from asset management firm PGIM. The price comes to $196 per square foot.

The firm had owned the Jewel Osco-anchored shopping center since it was developed in 1988.

While riding the wave of the pandemic, Danada Square West has maintained a strong mix of tenants. It is 92 percent occupied with tenants including TJ Maxx, HomeGoods, Burlington, Ulta and Five Below. PGIM renovated the center from 2021 to 2023.

Smaller scale shopping centers are faring better than indoor shopping centers. There are at least five distressed shopping malls in the Chicago suburbs that are undergoing various redevelopment plans. Meanwhile, a 420,000-square foot shopping plaza in Woodfield Village sold for $93 million last year and made the list of top 10 priciest commercial transactions in Cook County in 2024.

JLL broker Keely Polczynski, who represented PGIM in the Wheaton shopping center sale, said that demand for the property signaled a strong start for retail in the new year.

“We had such a tremendous response for this asset, with over 15 written offers from a myriad of national players,” she said.

Westchester County, New York-based DLC and its partners are setting their sights on filling the 23,000 square feet of vacant space at the shopping center with some potential leases already pending, according to a statement from DLC.

Although DLC has partnered with Chicago-based Temerity Strategic Partners several times, this is the first deal that the firm has inked alongside Dallas-based Crow Capital Holdings.