Hanley Investment Group Real Estate Advisors and Greenstone Partners completed the sale of South Weber Plaza, a 28,600-square-foot, multi-tenant retail property in Crest Hill, a city in Will County, Illinois, in the Chicagoland metro area.
Hanley Investment Group vice president Jeff Lefko and executive vice president Bill Asher, along with Jonny Lefko, vice president at Greenstone Partners of Chicago, represented the seller, a private partnership based in Illinois and Missouri. The three also represented the buyer, an all-cash 1031 exchange buyer based in Southern California. The team negotiated a 14-day due diligence period and 30-day close.
Located at 1801-1847 Knapp Road in Crest Hill, the shopping center was 100-percent leased with primarily service-based, internet-resistant tenants that provide daily customer traffic. Tenants include The Southern Café, Fire Water BBQ, 12 Handles Ale House, Sammy’s Gaming Parlor, Motivation Fitness, Serenity Wellness Center, Grandeur Salon & Spa, The Awesome A’s Activities Club, Natasha’s Clothing Boutique and Cambium Realty.
In 2018, the shopping center underwent a major renovation, which included a new façade, storefronts, signage, parking lot, HVAC and landscaping. “As part of the 6.18-acre property acquisition, the sale also included a 2.13-acre pad in the front of the center as well as a 7,400-square-foot pad in the parking lot that could be used for future excess parking,” said Jeff Lefko. “It was a great opportunity for me to partner with my brother, Jonny, who is based in the Midwest. By using Hanley Investment Group’s proprietary database and working closely with Jonny, we were able to generate multiple offers to purchase the property and complete the sale.”
Over 195,000 people are located within a five-mile radius of the property with an average household income of over $72,000, which is projected to grow 18 percent by 2022. There has also been an increase in the daytime population with 11.5+ million square feet of speculative industrial space constructed in 2017, representing an investment of more than $460 million in the county. Amazon also opened a half-million-square-foot facility in the nearby Crest Hill Business Park.
“California buyers, especially those completing 1031 exchanges, are still willing to look out of state for more opportunities, especially with the limited product that is available in California,” Asher said. “Well-located Midwest retail properties—both single-tenant and multi-tenant properties—offer California buyers tremendous value.”
