Jones Lang LaSalle has closed on the sale of a 13.5-acre parcel on Chicago’s South Side to Wal-Mart. The shovel-ready pad is located in the Chatham Market shopping center on 83rd Street and South Holland Road, where the discounter plans to open a 155,000 sq. ft. Wal-Mart Supercenter. No sale price was provided.

The supercenter will be the first of six new full-scale stores Wal-Mart plans to build in the City of Chicago. Jones Lang LaSalle closed the deal today on behalf of Monroe Investment Partners LLC.

Wal-Mart also has entered into a lease of an existing 10,000 sq. ft. building at Chatham Market for a Wal-Mart Express store — a convenience grocery concept that will also be the first of its kind in Chicago.

Chatham Market is a 450,000 sq. ft. shopping center that is already home to a Lowe’s Home Improvement store, a Potbelly’s Sandwich Shop, and an Aldi grocery store that is under construction and scheduled to open June 1.

Leading the Jones Lang LaSalle team on this assignment were Managing Director Tom Kirschbraun, Managing Director Meredith O’Connor, and Vice President Edward Lewis.

“Wal-Mart’s commitment to this major power center, with both a Supercenter and an Express store, will be a major boon to consumers on Chicago’s South Side,” predicted Kirschbraun.

Construction of the Supercenter is expected to get under way by late April, and the store is expected to be open by the end of 2011 or early 2012.

“Beyond the initial construction jobs, the new stores will create hundreds of permanent jobs for Chicago residents,” added Kirschbraun.

Chatham Market is located on the site of the former Ryerson Steel facility covering 50 acres between 83rd and 87th streets just west of the Dan Ryan Expressway (I-94). The Wal-Mart Supercenter will be centrally located on the site adjacent to Lowe’s and will feature a full grocery department.

The Wal-Mart Express will operate in an existing building at the 83rd Street entrance to Chatham Market, and will offer a limited line of groceries as well as pharmacy services.

Monroe Investment Partners is a Chicago-based real estate investment and development group focused on value-add and opportunity real estate. In addition to Chatham Market, Monroe has developed retail projects in Illinois, Wisconsin and Tennessee, and its investment portfolio includes warehouse and office properties in Illinois, Tennessee and Missouri.