The Cincinnati-based bank has signed a 20-year lease for a site at the corner of North Avenue and LaSalle Street, says Josh Levy, a licensed pilot who has just completed his first solo real estate deal. In January, Mr. Levy formed his own, one-man company, Levco Group LLC, after eight years with Chicago-based Stone Real Estate Corp.
Mr. Levy and the Burger King’s operator paid $2.4 million for the property, 145 W. North Ave., in August, property records show, buying it from a trust whose beneficiaries could not be determined. They also paid an additional sum to Miami-based Burger King Holdings Inc. to terminate the lease on the property, which has been a Burger King for about 30 years.
The restaurant is scheduled to close at the end of this month.
Fifth Third plans to demolish the restaurant and build a new facility, which would open in the spring. The parcel is 5,850 square feet, according to the Cook County Assessor’s office.
The Burger King’s operator, Adam Velarde, president of Cave Enterprises Inc., says he plans to open two new restaurants to replace the North Avenue location. Cicero-based Cave currently has six Burger Kings in the Chicago area.
Mr. Levy, 31, has been running Levco out of his Near North Side condo since leaving retail specialist Stone in January. He learned some of the ins and outs of branch-bank real estate at Stone, where he worked on about 20 local deals for North Carolina-based Bank of America.
“Josh has a great, natural real estate mind,” says David Stone, president of Stone Real Estate Corp.
Mr. Levy became interested in real estate at the University of Colorado, where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in business administration in 1998. After college, the Highland Park native worked for a year in the Chicago office of CB Richard Ellis Inc. before joining Stone. A licensed pilot, Mr. Levy owns a single-engine four-seater that he keeps at Chicago Executive Airport in Wheeling.
Like most small businesses, many fledgling real estate firms eventually fail.
But with one deal done, Mr. Levy says he hopes to complete three more next year and seven in 2009.
"I feel like I've earned my master's (degree) in the last nine months," Mr. Levy says. "I'm dealing with the city, aldermen, and bankers — it's a lot more than just finding the real estate."
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source: chicagobusiness.com
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