Wednesday, April 17, 2019

Luxury Rental Tower Optima Signature Welcomes Chicago’s First Downtown Location for Egg Harbor Café

Tara Hovey
CHICAGO, IL (April 17, 2019) — Optima Signature, a 57-story, 490-unit luxury apartment tower with prime retail space located just east of Chicago’s Magnificent Mile, today announced it has signed a lease with Egg Harbor Café, a restaurant specializing in breakfast, brunch and lunch with 20 locations in Illinois, Wisconsin and Georgia. 

Expected to open in fall 2019, it will be the first downtown Chicago location for the brand.

Developed by Glencoe, Ill.-based Optima, Inc. a full-service real estate firm with projects in Illinois and Arizona, Optima Signature is located at 220 E. Illinois St. and features 490 apartments and 60,000 square feet of retail and professional space. 

Egg Harbor Café’s new 4,905-square-foot location will front the building’s plaza on upper Illinois Street, steps from Michigan Avenue and the Chicago River.

David C. Hovey

Egg Harbor Café is the latest retailer to lease space at Optima Signature. Existing businesses include GoodVets Streeterville, a full-service veterinarian that operates a 2,000-square-foot facility in the building; Guidepost Montessori at Magnificent Mile, a California-based school with an 11,500-square-foot space; and RUNAWAY fitness, a 4,099-square-foot run conditioning fitness studio. 

In addition, Bedazzled Nails & Spa will open a 1,530-square-foot salon later this spring. With these leases, Optima Signature will have only one 490-square-foot retail space remaining.

“Retailers have selected Optima Signature for many of the same reasons our residents have – its prime location off Michigan Avenue and modern design aesthetic in the heart of Chicago’s Streeterville neighborhood,” said Tara Hovey, president and COO of Optima, Inc. 

“With Egg Harbor Café, we’re continuing to curate businesses that enhance the building’s distinctive mixed-use community and help it serve as a destination to live, work and play. 

Graham Hallen
"More residents than ever have made Streeterville home in recent years, and a popular breakfast and lunch restaurant perfectly complements the other neighborhood restaurant offerings serving our Optima Signature residents as well as the community as a whole.”

Patrons of Egg Harbor Café will have a clear view of the building’s plaza, which features a David Hovey Sr.-designed bright yellow, 15-foot Kiwi sculpture composed of half-inch steel plates.

“For our first downtown Chicago location, Egg Harbor Café wanted our guests to experience an urban oasis, and Optima Signature offers us the opportunity to provide just that,” said Graham Hallen, vice president of facility management, purchasing and commissary operations for Egg Harbor Café. 

Optima Signature Apartments, Magnificent Mile,
220 East Illinois Street, Chicago, IL

“Set alongside a beautiful open plaza with sweeping views of iconic Chicago landmarks, our Optima Signature location will be a refreshing haven, welcoming Streeterville residents and local office workers as well as visitors to the city.”

Designed by award-winning architect David Hovey Sr., FAIA, and completed in 2017, Optima Signature is a LEED-certified luxury rental development featuring 1.5 acres of amenity space. 

Optima Signature’s amenities include: resort-style outdoor heated swimming pools with cabanas and bars; saunas, steam rooms and a WELLBEATS™ virtual workout studio; resident lounge with coffee bar; basketball, squash and bocce ball courts; golf simulator and putting green; and outdoor terrace with lounge furnishings, fire pits and spas. 

Another amenity floor has a fitness center with cardio and strength-training equipment, yoga studio, indoor lap pool, whirlpool spa and children's play area. Additional outdoor amenities include a 40-yard running track, dog park, children's play area, co-ed sauna and steam rooms, two full kitchens, grilling stations and dining areas.



Optima is currently leasing furnished office suites, located on the Grand Mezzanine and seventh floors, that range in size from 200 square feet to 720 square feet.

 Available to both residents and non-residents, the suites house one to five workstations and have the ability to expand to accommodate 10 people. Furnishings include desks, lighting, cabinetry, a refrigerator and shelving as well as free Wi-Fi. 

An additional 13,000 square feet of professional office space is available on Optima Signature’s Plaza Mezzanine level.

For more information about Optima Signature’s commercial space, please visit optimasignature.com/business-suites.

CONTACTS:

Kim Manning, kmanning@taylorjohnson.com, (312) 267-4527
Rebecca Boykin, rboykin@taylorjohnson.com, (312) 267-4523


HFF arranges sale and financing for retail center in Charlotte, NC


Terraces at University Place Shopping Center,
  North Tryon Street, Charlotte, NC

CHARLOTTE, NC –– HFF announces that it has closed the sale of and arranged acquisition financing for Terraces at University Place, a 65,112-square-foot neighborhood shopping center in Charlotte’s University neighborhood.

                        Tom Kolarczyk  
HFF represented the seller, Ziff Properties, Inc.  LBX Investments purchased the asset.  Additionally, working on behalf of the new owner, HFF placed a 10-year, fixed-rate acquisition loan with TIAA Bank. 

Terraces at University Place is located along the highly trafficked North Tryon Street, which exposes the center to 24,000 vehicles per day, and benefits from the rapid growth and transformation of the surrounding area.

Originally built in 2000, the property is now 97% leased to an eclectic blend of restaurants and retailers, including The Flying Saucer Draught Emporium, Que Onda Tacos, Iron Dish Korean BBQ, The Press Box Bar & Grill and Smoothie King.

Terraces at University Place

 The excellent mix of experiential retailers will continue to garner significant demand from the young, entertainment-focused demographic of the nearby University of North Carolina Charlotte (UNCC) students.

Additional, as it’s situated just blocks from the recent $1.2-billion Blue Line extension, Terraces at University Place is becoming more accessible to the greater Charlotte population.

The HFF investment advisory team representing the seller included director Tom Kolarczyk.  

Gregg Shapiro
The HFF debt placemen team representing the new owner was led by managing director Gregg Shapiro and senior director Cory Fowler.

“Unanchored retail in areas near universities continue to garner exceptional demand, especially properties like Terraces at University Place that have a diverse mix of retail, service and restaurant tenants,” Kolarczyk said.

 “The growth story around UNCC is exceptional, which bodes well for commercial development and rent growth in the area.”

Holliday GP Corp. ("HFF") is a North Carolina licensed real estate broker.

About Ziff Properties, Inc.

Ziff Properties, Inc. is an entrepreneurial commercial real estate investment firm with a focus on the southeastern United States.  The firm is engaged in the acquisition, ownership and operation of shopping centers and other select multi-tenant commercial real estate opportunities, including self-storage and flex/business park properties.  Please visit https://www.zpi.net to learn more.

Cory Fowler

About LBX Investments

LBX Investments owns and operates neighborhood and community shopping centers located in the southeastern region of the U.S.

LBX has developed a robust investment management platform that includes best in class in-house and third-party leasing, property management, asset management, construction, investor relations, finance and accounting capabilities. 


CONTACTS:

THOMAS KOLARCZYK
NC Lic. #276931
HFF Director
(704) 526-2813

GREGG SHAPIRO
HFF Managing Director
(404) 832-8460

CORY FOWLER
HFF Senior Director
(704) 526-2807

KIMBERLY STEELE
HFF Digital Content/Public Relations Specialist
(713) 852-3420