NewMark Merrill Companies, Inc. has acquired Lake Meadows Shopping Center, a 179,106-square-foot grocery-anchored retail center located on 16 acres on the corner of South Martin Luther King Drive and East 35th Street in Chicago, from Draper and Kramer.

The center is anchored by Jewel-Osco, LA Fitness, Foot Locker, CVS Pharmacy, Citi Trends, and many other national, regional, and local merchants. The refinance was facilitated by Kostas Kavayiotidis of Pacific Southwest Realty and Bryan Gortikov of Gortikov Enterprises. Sandra Kist, Chief Financial Officer, and Josh Ginsborg, Vice President of Capital Markets, negotiated on behalf of NewMark Merrill.

NewMark Merrill plans to invest in Lake Meadows to upgrade the center, including improvements to signage, lighting, and gathering spaces. The California-based company also refinanced Winston Plaza in Melrose Park, securing a new loan with Wells Fargo for long-term debt from Mutual of Omaha for $36 million. The company acquired the center in 2008 and completed an extensive remodeling. NewMark Merrill now owns eight retail properties in the Chicago area totaling 1.6 million square feet.