1611 North Damen Avenue, Chicago, IL 60647

Irreplaceable Bucktown Location

The property is located on the 1600 block of Damen Avenue, immediately north of the six-way intersection of Damen, North, and Milwaukee Avenues, widely considered the “best block in Bucktown.” This location serves as the premier corner for Bucktown and Wicker Park and also draws customers from the nearby neighborhoods of Lincoln Park, the Gold Coast, Lakeview, and Old Town neighborhoods. The Damen Collective benefits from exceptional accessibility, with the Damen CTA Blue Line station located less than one block away and serving over 1.2 million riders annually, as well as immediate access to I-94 and the 606 Trail.

Premier Bucktown Retail Corridor

The Bucktown corridor features a curated mix of national brands, digitally native retailers, and high-performing dining concepts, reinforcing its position as one of Chicago’s best retail trade areas. Strong pedestrian traffic, affluent demographics, and limited storefront availability have created a highly competitive leasing environment.Notable tenants in the corridor include Blue Mercury, Aesop, Shinola, Free People, Le Labo, Abercombie & Fitch, Marine Layer, Salomon, Credo, Barnes & Noble, Foxtrot, Van Leeuwen Ice Cream, Sweetgreen, Jeni’s, Carhartt, Burton, and more. This collection of national lifestyle brands combined with local restaurants, bars and coffee shops have made the Bucktown neighborhood one of the most attractive live/play areas in Chicago.

New Long-Term Leases | 8.5-Year WALT

Recent leasing activity has meaningfully strengthened the rent roll through the addition of contemporary retail and dining concepts, resulting in an attractive 8.5-year weighted average lease term. Hotel Chocolat recently opened on a new 10-year lease (backed by a corporate guaranty from Mars Incorporated), providing institutional-quality credit. Additional new leases include Call Your Mother Deli, a rapidly expanding concept from the East Coast, and Shang Noodle, operated by an award-winning local restaurant group. This concentration of new, long-term leases provides exceptional income durability and limits near-term rollover exposure, positioning The Damen Collective to deliver stable and predictable cash flow.

Predictable NOI Growth | Contractual Rent Escalations

The Damen Collective offers a highly predictable and growing income stream driven by contractual rent escalations across the rent roll. Annual rent increases for every tenant of either 2.5% or 3% provide a reliable hedge against inflation. This structure allows investors to capture forward NOI growth without reliance on future leasing assumptions or mark-to-market risk. The combination of embedded growth and long-term leases creates a durable cash flow profile featuring near-term stability backed by long-term compounding income growth.

Exceptional Demographic Profile

The offering is supported by a dense and highly affluent population base, with approximately 63,000 residents within a one-mile radius. The surrounding area features average household incomes of $187,400 and median home values of $625,100, with the median sale price for a single-family home exceeding $1.7M. The young and active demographics with a median age of 33 provides strong discretionary spending power and long-term demand for retail and dining. Bucktown continues to attract residents due to its walkability, lifestyle amenities, and proximity to downtown, underpinning tenant performance and continued tenant demand for retail space.