Chicago’s L3 Capital believes in the power of urban retail

L3 Capital LLC is heavily invested in urban retail. Just in the Southport corridor of Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood — one of the city’s busiest — LC Capital has invested $20 million in retail projects dotting a two-block stretch. There’s a reason why L3 is so interested in urban retail; the demographics and foot traffic that come with it.

“This is an exciting space for us,” said Greg Schott, principal at L3. “The Southport corridor is an active one in Chicago. It’s taken on its own character as a place to buy quality, eclectic fashion. That’s really given the area an identity.”

And this, too, is key, Schott said. It helps companies like L3 determine which retailers would make the best fit for a neighborhood. Shoppers in the Southport corridor, for instance, often head to the area with the intention to buy unique clothing and accessories.

L3 Capital early this summer purchased three retail properties for $6 million on Southport Avenue. That move brought the firm’s total investment in the Southport corridor to about $19 million.

Totaling about 9,000 square feet, the properties are 100-percent leased and contain tenants such as Standard Bank, Cerato boutique, Cuban restaurant Coobah and confectioner Candyality.

The transaction marks L3’s second major investment along the Southport corridor in the last six months. In December of 2012, L3 purchased a total of 28,000 square feet here for $13 million. Those properties include such retailers as lululemon, Southport Grocery and Cafe, Homemade Pizza Co. and Free People. The deal also included eight residential apartments.

And don’t expect these buys to be L3’s last, whether in the Southport corridor or in other Chicago neighborhoods that feature the strong demographics and foot traffic that usually equal thriving retail.

“Retailers love these type of corridors,” Schott said. “They know that the foot traffic will help them succeed. And the know that the people who live in these areas tend to have income that they are willing to spend. It makes for the right combination for retailers.”