CASE STUDIES

Location: 4300 West Lake Street, Chicago, Illinois.
Located in the West Garfield Park neighborhood of Chicago. The property is the former Sloan Valve Company factory. The Sloan Valve Company is the world’s leading manufacturer of water-conserving plumbing systems and has been in operation since 1906. The company is currently headquartered in Franklin Park, Illinois, but occupied the building at 4300 West Lake for approximately 50 years from 1920 to 1970.

Challenge: Since 1970, the 130,000 SF building had gone through periods of substantial decline and disrepair. Kingfisher acquired the building in 2004 to resolve the environmental challenges, gut the building of all obsolete systems and repair the roof.

Solutions:

Tenant: One tenant, a catering operation, occupies approximately 10,000 square feet of fully improved space. The remaining areas have been leased to distributors on short-term basis to provide supplemental cash flow.

Administration: Because the property met several eligibility criteria, Kingfisher was able to secure a Class 6 (b) Cook County Tax Incentive. Upon redevelopment, the property will receive a 16% assessment level for the first 10 years, 23% in year 11, and 30% in year 12, before returning to the full assessment level of 36% in year 13.

Alley Vacation: Kingfisher applied to the Chicago Department of Transportation to vacate the alley that separates the building from the vacant lot. The alley was conveyed by the City of Chicago for free. Subject to City service providers and utility board review, the Chicago Street and Alley Vacation Program assists users who need the vacated right-of-ways for plant expansion and modernization, employee parking, improved security, truck staging, or other accessory uses that are likely to improve the operations. In this case, Kingfisher wanted to vacate the alley to improve security and provide more parking and truck staging space. Also, Kingfisher installed more truck docks along the building’s north wall.

Environmental: A Phase II Subsurface Investigation indicated that there were isolated located near the north wall. These were remediated along with four (4) Underground Storage Tanks located inside the building that were cleaned out and abandoned in place per IEPA regulations. The site was enrolled into the Illinois EPA Site Remediation Program and a “No Further Remediation” letter was issued. In addition, asbestos-containing materials (ACM’s) and peeling lead paint throughout the building was removed.

Design & Demolition: An interior demolition project gutted the building. A central, unusable 20,000 square foot structure was demolished, transforming the building into two buildings separated by a vacant lot, 4300 W. Lake and 4348 W. Lake.

Roofing: A complete tear-off and replacement of roof coverings, insulation, and repairing of wood decking was performed.

Property Highlights:

  • Five miles west of Chicago Loop. Convenient to I-290, public transportation, and rail.
  • Zoned Manufacturing, M1-2.
  • Approximately 110,000 square feet of manufacturing/warehouse/distribution facilities/office space.
  • Floor to floor height: 10′-16′
  • Parking for approximately 140 cars
  •  Located in the Northwest Industrial TIF district
  • Located in Empowerment Zone and Enterprise Community

Location: 20431 South Torrence Avenue, Lynwood, Illinois.
At the northeast corner of Glenwood-Dyer Road and Torrence Avenue.

Challenge: Heavily contaminated corner gas station. The seller had removed a total of six underground storage tanks in 1993 but contaminated soils remained and total cleanup costs were unknown. Prospective buyers had expressed interest but did not move forward as the seller wanted to sell property along with environmental liabilities.

Solution: Kingfisher signed a two-year option with the site’s private owners and secured an IEPA Brownfield Grant to assess and quantify the environmental cleanup costs. The grant is used as an economic development tool to facilitate brownfield development in municipalities. Kingfisher agreed to reimburse the Village of Lynwood a portion of the grant over a pro-rated period once the property is redeveloped and generating income. Kingfisher is actively marketing the site to potential tenants for a build-to-suit commercial development of the property.

Location: Chicago South Suburbs in Cook County, Illinois.

Challenge: Many industrial and commercial tax-delinquent properties remained vacant or abandoned, underutilized, and off the property tax rolls.

Solution: Cook County established SSTRP to facilitate development and bring economic benefit to targeted areas in the south suburbs of Chicago. The program enables municipalities to acquire tax-delinquent properties without having to pay the back taxes owed. Kingfisher Group, in partnership with Sheldon Good & Company (a national real estate brokerage firm), was awarded the marketing contract for the Cook County South Suburban Tax Reactivation Project (SSTRP). In addition to the marketing, Kingfisher Group conducted environmental assessments on specific properties.