AEW and Brand Street Properties Acquire Deer Park Town Center for $125M in Chicago's Northwest Suburbs
A joint venture of AEW Capital Management and Brand Street Properties has acquired Deer Park Town Center, a 352,257-square-foot open-air lifestyle center in Deer Park, Illinois, for $125 million. Newmark arranged the sale on behalf of seller PGIM, the firm announced September 25, 2026. The transaction is the largest Chicago-area retail property sale in at least a decade.
Transaction Details
The property, located at 20530 N. Rand Road at the intersection of Rand Road and Long Grove Road, was approximately 84.6% occupied at the time of sale. At $125 million, the deal implies pricing of roughly $355 per square foot based on the 352,257-square-foot figure. The center draws approximately 3 million visitors annually and features more than 45 retailers and dining destinations.
Newmark President and Head of Retail Capital Markets Conor Lalor and Senior Managing Directors Kyle Minter and Keely Polczynski led the brokerage assignment, with support from Director James Sharpe V and Associate Director Brian Schneiderman.
"Deer Park Town Center represented a rare opportunity to acquire a dominant open-air lifestyle asset in one of the Midwest's most desirable retail trade areas," Lalor said. "The property's exceptional demographics, premier merchandising profile and embedded value-creation opportunities generated significant interest from investors seeking high-quality retail real estate."
Property Profile and Tenant Mix
Built in 2000, Deer Park Town Center is anchored by a roster of nationally recognized tenants including Anthropologie, Crate & Barrel, Pottery Barn, Sephora, lululemon, Apple and Warby Parker. The center's dining and food offerings include Sweetgreen, Biaggi's Ristorante Italiano, Stoney River Steaks, Ancho & Agave and California Pizza Kitchen, among others. Additional tenants include Williams-Sonoma, Gap, Century Theatres, Kendra Scott, Bluemercury, Evereve and The Shade Store.
In the years leading up to the sale, prior ownership completed approximately 74,000 square feet of leasing activity, securing commitments from Sweetgreen, Tommy Bahama, Pandora, The Shade Store, Bluemercury, Joybird, American Eagle and Warby Parker. That leasing momentum reinforced the property's positioning in the Chicago market.
The center benefits from strong surrounding demographics, including average household incomes of approximately $170,000 and a population exceeding 180,000 residents within a five-mile radius. Daily traffic counts at the intersection exceed 50,000 vehicles.
Market Context
The $125 million sale price stands well above broader Chicago retail transaction benchmarks. Chicago retail fundamentals remained comparatively healthy heading into the transaction, with a market vacancy rate of approximately 4.9% and average transaction pricing of roughly $187 per square foot in the second quarter of 2026. Deer Park Town Center's implied pricing of approximately $355 per square foot reflects the center's affluent trade area, national tenant lineup and open-air lifestyle format.
The property's 84.6% occupancy rate at closing — below the broader Chicago market's approximately 95.1% occupancy — provides the buyer joint venture with a potential lease-up opportunity. The combination of an established tenant base and available vacancy is consistent with a value-creation investment strategy in which the buyer can pursue remerchandising and lease-up to drive returns.
The transaction reflects continued institutional demand for open-air lifestyle retail assets in high-income suburban corridors. The buyer group pairs a regional retail owner and developer with a major institutional investment manager, underscoring the appeal of dominant lifestyle centers with strong demographics and limited competing supply.
About the Parties
Newmark Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: NMRK) is a commercial real estate advisory and services firm. For the twelve months ended June 30, 2026, Newmark generated revenues of more than $3.6 billion and operated from over 195 offices with more than 10,000 professionals across four continents.