A shopping center near Foundry Park in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood has sold after years of retooling around a healthcare tenant. Webster Place, long known for its mix of retail shops and a movie theater, changed hands following a renovation that reshaped the property around medical office space.
The sale was reported by Crain's Chicago Business, which described a healthcare-oriented turnaround at Webster Place. The 136,130-square-foot property sits on 4.27 acres at 1471 West Webster Avenue and includes 611 garage and surface parking spaces, according to a CBRE press release announcing its retention as exclusive marketing agent for the property on behalf of seller Novak Development.
A Property Transformed Since 2022
Novak Development bought Webster Place in 2022 for about $30 million, or roughly $220 per square foot, according to The Real Deal. At that point, the center was less than 70 percent leased and was losing two of its bigger names, with both Barnes & Noble and Moosejaw heading for the exits, the outlet reported.
By the time Novak put the property on the market, the story looked very different. The Real Deal described Webster Place as close to fully occupied and positioned to sell for about $80 million. Chase Bank and Regal Cinemas also remained as tenants and had recently renewed their leases, per the same report.
Conflicting Numbers on the Healthcare Buildout
The scale of that healthcare buildout has been described differently across reports. CBRE's later press release put the facility at 75,970 square feet and said it was slated to open in the first quarter of 2025. The Real Deal, meanwhile, described a $79 million, 76,000-square-foot outpatient facility set to open in the quarter it published its report. The Real Deal did report that Advocate Health had committed to a 10-year lease at the property.
Other Chicago-Area Retail Deals
A joint venture of DLC Management, Crow Capital Holdings and Temerity Strategic Partners bought Danada Square West in Wheaton from PGIM for $61.7 million, and a 420,000-square-foot plaza in Woodfield Village traded for $93 million, according to CoStar.
Against that backdrop, Webster Place's sale marks another Chicago-area retail property changing hands after a healthcare-focused repositioning.
