The owners of the Church Street Plaza development in downtown Evanston have listed it for sale.
The listing from CBRE indicates the owners are seeking a quick sale of the property, with initial bids due by May 27.
With the recent closure of the Century Theatres, the plaza is just 50% occupied, according to the broker’s information, which claims, “The ability to re-lease and re-position the asset presents a unique opportunity to acquire a premier retail asset at a fraction of its former basis and create significant incremental value.”
The complex includes three buildings with a total of over 179,000 square feet of space.
The San Francisco-based real estate investment firm Stockbridge Capital Group LLC acquired the development for just over $70 million in November 2013.
At Thursday night’s 2nd Ward meeting, the city’s community development manager, Paul Zalmezak, said he’s been total that several parties have expressed interest in the property.
He said he hopes that a buyer who can acquire it for less that what the current owner paid will be able to rent out the now vacant storefronts “at a more affordable rate.”
He said several movie theater operators are interested in the vacant theater space but that with remodeling of the theaters expected to follow a sale it is likely to be more than a year before the theaters reopen.