Thorofare Capital has funded a $2,060,000 fixed-rate bridge loan for the acquisition and renovation of the Olympic Building. The property is a 74,698 SF multi-tenant office, retail and entertainment building located in Cicero, a suburb of Chicago. The sponsor planned to capture a cap rate arbitrage by bifurcating the cell tower/antennae income, then spending an additional $200,000 in capital upgrades to convert the theater space into an entertainment venue. The fixed-rate, interest-only loan carries an initial term of 18-months and requires 12-months of yield maintenance.

The property, built in 1927, is located on South Lombard Avenue in Cicero, Illinois and consists of 51,850 SF (69.4% of NRSF) of retail space, 18,288 SF (24.5% of NRSF) of office space and 4,560 SF (6.1% of NRSF) of basement space. The property has long been known as the home of the 1,400 seat Olympic Theatre which hosts live performances from various entertainers from all over the country. The location is within the Cicero/Berwyn submarket, which is 9.5 miles West of downtown Chicago. Within a 3 mile radius, the population count is nearly 300,000 residents. As of Q2 2015, per CoStar, the retail vacancy rate in the market was 5.0% with asking rents average $15 psf, and limited new construction has been completed or is underway within a 5 mile radius (other than a 150,000 SF Costco and a 137,000 SF Wal-Mart).

The sponsor is a Chicago-based, privately-held investment firm that specializes in buying historic and storied theater-anchored properties and repositioning them as entertainment venues in densely populated neighborhoods throughout Chicago.