Chicago & Midwest + North Side + Retail | September 1, 2023

Chicago-based developer R2 and Goldman Sachs hired JLL to sell a 40,085-square-foot REI store on Chicago's North Side

R2 Puts North Side REI Store on the Market

A joint venture of Chicago-based developer R2 and Goldman Sachs has hired JLL to sell a 40,085-square-foot REI store on Chicago’s North Side at 1422 N. Kingsbury St., which R2 converted from industrial use. Crain’s Chicago Business reported that the sellers hope a long-term lease with steady cash flow will lure a buyer at a difficult time to sell commercial property.

Outdoor equipment retailer REI opened the store along the North Branch of the Chicago River in 2019, relocating from a nearby building on Halsted Street. There is no asking price listed for the building, which REI has leased through July 2034.

However, a source familiar with the offering told Crain’s that bids are expected to come in between $20 million and $25 million based on the property’s NOI. The listing comes amid a big slowdown in commercial property sales, with sales of retail properties through July down 48% from the same period in 2022 to $31.4 billion, according to data from MSCI Real Assets.

Photo courtesy of R2.

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About Paul Bubny

Paul Bubny serves as Senior Content Director for Connect Commercial Real Estate, a role to which he brings 13-plus years’ experience covering the commercial real estate industry and 30-plus years in business-to-business journalism. In this capacity, he oversees daily operations while also reporting on both local/regional markets and national trends, covering individual transactions across all property types, as well as delving into broader subject matter. He produces 15-20 daily news stories per day and works with the Connect team and clients to develop longer-form content, ranging from Q&As to thought-leadership pieces. Prior to joining Connect, Paul was Managing Editor for both Real Estate Forum and GlobeSt.com at American Lawyer Media, where he oversaw operations at both publications while also producing daily news and feature-length articles. His tenure in B2B publishing stretches back into the print era, and he has served as Editor in Chief on four national trade publications. Since 1999, Paul has volunteered as the newsletter editor of passenger rail advocacy groups (one national, one local).

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