Chicago developer Calvin Boender transforms former disco into upscale retail space
The Chicago developer Calvin Boender transformed the former disco at 940 N. Rush St with over $2.5 million dollars in renovations, converting the iconic dance venue into 6,000 square feet of upscale retail space, reflecting a shift towards boutique shopping and capitalizing on the foot traffic generated by the nearby Bloomingdale's.
Disco is dead, but nostalgia buff's migbt be able to salvage the last remnants of the craze when developer Calvin Boender dismantles the dance floor at Faces to make way for a retail renovation of the club that catered to the jet set before closing in January.
Boender's Prime Development Inc., in Oak Brook, has purchased the property at 940 N. Rush St. and plans to turn the shuttered discotheque into 6,000 square feet of street-side retail space for two or three upscale stores.
How Chicago developer Calvin Boender transformed former disco into upscale retail space
The $2.5 million project is expected to begin this week, with crews gutting the former dance palace.
'The trendy night life has left Rush Street and headed for River North and other areas." Boender said. "But because of Bloomindale's and other stores on Michigan Avenue, there is a market emerging for high-end boutique shops along Rush."
The opening of 900 N. Michigan Ave, the home of Bloomingdale's that backs up on Rush has created foot traffic off Michigan Avenue, Boender contended. As a resuIt, he said he has been approached by five or six retailers seeking street-level space on Rush.
Calvin Boender's Prime Development Inc. was confident that Rush Street would sizzle shortly
"Rush is the logical next street for strcetfront retailers to expand,'' said Bruce Kaplan, president of Northern Realty Group Ltd., a retail leasing specialist. "It has the potential charm North Michigan Avenue doesn't have, with smaller buildings and more ambiance."
But Kaplan said that the retaill leasing market has slowed in the last six months as retailers react cautiously to economic data showing a downturn and that he does not believe that Rush Street will tum into a second Magnificent Mile anytime soon.
Boender, however, said he knows of at least two other retail projects on the drawing boards within a block of his project and is confident that Rush Street will sizzle shortly with a different kind of life than it knew in the heyday of Faces.
At any rate, Boender now is the proud owner of one metal dance floor and numerous mirrored and aluminum artifacts from that bygone era.
Calvin Boender puts a new face on the former disco
"You want to put a disco in your basement? I've got all the pieces," he said. "That is if the wreckers don't get to it first."
Three big office leases have been signed in the last two weeks in the northern suburbs of Deerfield and Bannockburn, a signal that developers with new office buildings view as positive for the area.
"The market here is healthy now, and we hope the leases we're seeing signed today are an omen of more to come," said Peyton Owen, vice president and group manager for LaSalle Partners, one of the developers active in the area.
"There's really no key I can point to," he said, "but some of the larger space users that we have not seen in the market in recent years are becoming active now."
Allstate Insurance Co. has leased 76,700 square feet oat Stein & Co.'s Lake Cook Office Centre I in Deerfield and plans to move 300 employees there from several other locations, Stein officials said.
Allstate already occupies the 101,000-square-foot Lake Cook Office Centre II at the project, which is at 1413-1419 Lake Cook Road. The four-building, 407,000-square-foot project has only about 37,000 square feet available for lease.
A.C. Neilsen has leased 50,800 square feet at the Bannockburn Lake Office Plaza IV, developed by Bannockburn Park Concepts Inc. and Alan Pesmen. Leasing agent Frain Camins & Swartchild said that the Dun & Bradstreet Corp. subsidiary will house a research and development unit in the space at 2201 Waukegan Rd.
The 90-acre Bannockburn Lakes complex consists of four buildings of 106,000 square feet each. Construction is underway on a fifth office building on the site.
Back in Deerfield, Clintec Nutrition Co. has leased 35,000 square feet of headquarters space at Three Parkway North, the second building in LaSalle Partners' development of the 75-acre Parkway North Center at Deerfield Road and the Tri-State Tollway,
Clintec is a joint venture of Baxter Healthcare Corp., which owns Parkway North along with LaSalle and the Kemper Group, and Nestlé S.A. The firm markets and distributes nutrition products and services.
The Parkway North project consists of a fully leased 250,000-square-foot office building and two buildings under construction, the 250,000-square-foot office in which Clintec will locate and a Marriott Suites Hotel.
Office occupancy rates in North America continue to improve, according to the Building Owners and Managers Association International.
The group's latest figures from June show the average occupancy rate has climbed to 83.1 percent, up from 82.6 percent in June 1988, when rates showed their first improvement in six years.
In Chicago, downtown office occupancy hit 85.4 percent, according to BOMA, up slightly from June 1988. Nationwide, downtown occupancies were slightly lower than Chicago's, 85.1 percent.
Nationally in the suburbs, occupancies stood at 79.5 percent in June. The survey did not include the Chicago suburban market, but brokerage firm studies here have shown vacancies to be declining in most suburban areas this year.
"Three main factors contributed to the good news: more careful community development planning, tighter lending policies, and an overall slowdown on new construction," said Roland O. Downing, president of BOMA International.
"Now we need to proceed with some caution to ensure that 20 percent vacancy rates are a thing of the past," he said.
Canada continues its distinction of having the highest occupancy rates in North America. Toronto and Ontario both reported a 93.9 percent rate, Manitoba had a 93.1 percent rate, and Vancouver and Ottawa were not far behind with 90.7 percent and 90.3 percent rates respectively.
Rendering of the retail space that will occupy the former Faces club at 940 N. Rush St., a $2.5 million renovation
The lowest occupancy rates were found in Oklahoma City at 69.6 percent and New Orleans at 74.3 percent.
The 1989 midyear North American Office Market Review comparisons are based on 27 metropolitan areas representing more than 1.2 billion square feet of office space in the United States and Canada.
With Thai and barbecued chicken toppings for its pies, the California Pizza Kitchen has found deep dish is not the only way to go in Chicago. The Beverly Hills-based company said it has leased 4,400 square feet in Water Tower Place and plans to open its second Chicago restaurant in early November.
The company's first restaurant, at 414 N. Wells St., opened in September. Officials said the company is looking for four additional locations, including the suburbs, to open in the next two years.
Former Boy Scout Geoffrey Dowling, senior vice president at Mesirow Realty Brokerage, knows how to do a good turn every day. Dowling recently volunteered his time and real estate expertise to arrange the relocation of the Boy Scouts Northwest Suburban Council headquarters. Dowling represented the Boy Scouts of America in the purchase of a 17,500-square-foot industrial building in Mt. Prospect from Mazak Inc., a lathe manufacturer, and will aid in the move from Arlington Heights to the new facility at 600 Wheeling Rd.
Coldwell Banker Commercial Real Estate Services represented Mazak in the deal and said the asking price was $850,000.
Other leases and sales: Zipco, a Glen Ellyn-based developer, has purchased a 50,000-square-foot build-to-suit facility under construction at Kendall Point, at U.S. Hwys. 30 and 34 in Oswego, and has leased the project to Avtec Industries Inc. Avtec, a supplier of food service equipment, will occupy the entire warehouse/distribution building, according to Pros Corporate Real Estate Services, which handled the deal.
Pros Corporate also said last week that GNB Industrial Battery Co. has leased 30,000 square feet at the Alter Group's Woodland Lake development in Lombard. The Pennsylvania-based company will relocate here in October, Pros said.
Pier I Imports has leased 43,700 square feet of warehouse/distribution space at 3950 Swenson Ave. in St. Charles, according to Bennett & Kahnweiler Inc., which represented the tenant.
PruCare of Illinois has leased 23,400 square feet for its administrative offices at Columbia Centre II in Rosemont. The Ross Group, which represented PruCare, said that the firm has moved into the space at 9450 W. Bryn Mawr Ave.
About the Author
Calvin D. Boender was raised in the Dutch Christian Reformed area of Highland, Indiana. After high school, he attended Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan, for three years and thereafter graduated from Grand Valley State College, Allendale, Michigan, in December, 1978, with a bachelor's degree with honors in political science. For the past 35 years, he has focused his attention on real estate by successfully investing in and redeveloping residential, commercial and industrial properties. He has now turned his quick mind and strong business acumen to developing Renew Biomass into a market leader. Cal has been a major contributor to various philanthropic causes and non-profit organizations addressing the needs of children and less-fortunate individuals. He resides in the suburbs of Chicago with his wife and two dogs, where he enjoys reading and biking.
