Debartolo Development buys first Chicago property

Tampa-based DeBartolo Development LLC has purchased its first property in the Chicago area, Prairie Stone Crossing. The 61,000-square-foot mixed-use community retail center occupies seven acres in the Chicago suburb of Hoffman Estates.

The mortgaged note was purchased for the DeBartolo Opportunity Fund I LP, for a 49% discount to the outstanding loan balance. The property is the fund's fifth asset.

The center features a 42,000-square-foot Sports Authority, a 12,000-square-foot multi-tenant retail building and a 6,000-square-foot freestanding retail/restaurant building. The property is currently 80% leased.

“What's so exciting is that this marks our first of hopefully several investments by DeBartolo in the Chicagoland area,” Edward Kobel, president and chief operating officer of DeBartolo Development, says in a press release. “[Chicago] has great stability, great demography and the economy is pretty robust. Prairie Stone Crossing's discounted purchase price and location in the affluent northwest suburbs of Chicago make this a premier investment that is in line with our strategy to invest in distressed assets that present attractive growth opportunities.”

Prairie Stone Crossing is adjacent to the Prairie Stone Business Park, the Poplar Creek Crossing shopping center and Sears' corporate headquarters.