| Press Release / March 2004 |
Becker Ventures/Next Realty Partnership Acquires Downtown Chicago Parking Garage
Chicago, IL (March 8, 2004) – Andy Hochberg, managing principal, Next Realty LLC, and Michael McInerney, president of Becker Ventures LLC, have announced the acquisition of a 12-story, 200-space parking garage at 60 E. Lake in downtown Chicago by a partnership of their respective firms, for an undisclosed sum. The seller was Urban Grown Property Trust. InterPark will continue to operate the parking facility. Financing was provided by Wells Fargo, and was arranged by the Michigan office of iCap Realty Advisors. Robert Caplin, principal, represented Next Realty in the transaction.
The property, located a half-block west of Michigan Avenue and three blocks south of the Chicago River, was designed by Tigerman McCurry Architects and is one of the few downtown Chicago parking garages designed by an internationally known architectural firm. In addition to the parking garage, the 60 E. Lake facility includes two 10,000 square-foot, multi-level retail spaces occupied by Nevada Bob's Golf and Ricobene's. The 60 E. Lake parking garage has been named the preferred parking provider for the recently opened 381 room Hard Rock Hotel Chicago, located at 230 N. Michigan Ave., in which Becker Ventures has an interest.
Next Realty LLC, with headquarters in Chicago and an additional office in Washington, D.C., is a real estate investment company specializing in acquisition of real estate between $2 million an $20 million in value. This acquisition brings the Next Realty portfolio to more than 1.5 million square feet of retail real estate, including a second parking garage at 200 W. Randolph in downtown Chicago. The company also provides high-level tenant representation and land-acquisition services. Next Realty's principals own a portfolio of properties valued in excess of $100 million, and have developed over 23 million square feet of land and repositioned more than $150 million in real estate assets.
Becker Ventures is a private investment firm with global investments in real estate of over $500 million, with acquisition activities in office, industrial, retail and hotel properties in major metropolitan markets, including individual properties, portfolio holdings and high-profile developments.
