DeBartolo Development buys land in Chicago suburb

Tampa-based DeBartolo Development LLC purchased 3.5 acres of vacant land next to the Tinley Park, Ill., convention center.

Acquired on behalf of DeBartolo Opportunity Fund I LP, the developer says it purchased the land at an 83% discount to the previous owner's original basis. The Chicago-area acquisition is the fund's seventh asset.

The site has five building pads, three of which are south of 183rd Street and east of Convention Center Drive. The remaining two pads are opposite the convention center.

“The Tinley Park development benefits from a superior location within a regional commercial hub right off Interstate 80 and only a short drive or train ride to downtown Chicago,” Edward Kobel, president and chief operating officer of DeBartolo Development, says in a press release. “This acquisition ties into our distressed investment model and provides a high quality, ground up development opportunity in a growing suburban community with the competitive strengths of the Chicago market.”

The convention center hosts 2,500 events and 780,000 people annually.

The property at Tinley Park is the third DeBartolo acquisition in the Chicago area, joining Prairie Stone Crossing in Hoffman Estates, Ill., and Bradley Commons in Bradley, Ill.