A Fulton Market fish wholesaler sold its buildings to a developer for $9 million, becoming the latest food company to cash in on soaring property values in the fast-changing area.

The owners of Isaacson & Stein Fish on Sept. 30 sold its connected buildings at 800 and 810 W. Fulton Market to Chicago-based R2, which plans to convert the property to flagship retail space, said R2 Managing Director Matt Garrison.

Isaacson & Stein, which has run its business there since 1958, joins a growing list of meatpackers and food distributors that have sold properties to real estate investors in the Fulton Market District on the northwestern edge of the West Loop. Many area businesses have shut down or moved to other areas after cashing in on property sales.

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The area has been changing fast in recent years, with major tenants such as McDonald's and Google signing office leases, joining several boutique hotels and new shops that have recently opened or are under construction.

The Isaacson & Stein property is alongside the lighted Fulton Market sign at Fulton and Halsted Street, the eastern gateway to the neighborhood. The site's visibility will be attractive to retailers looking for a multilevel flagship store, Garrison said.

“It's like a billboard for somebody who wants to be in Fulton Market, right at the neon sign,” he said.

R2 plans to demolish the two-story building along Halsted, replacing it with a new two-story structure connected to the four-story loft building it plans to keep. The combined, Gensler-designed structure could include four floors of retail for a tenant looking for a large, unique space, Garrison said. Or R2 could sign a retailer on the lower one or two floors and fill the top floors with office tenants in the new, 26,000-square-foot structure, he said.

In addition to the area's longtime food distribution history, it has become renowned in recent years for chef-driven restaurants on and around Randolph Street. More recently, national restaurant and clothing brands, including Urban Outfitters' Free People and Anthropologie brands, Kit & Ace, Shake Shack and Starbucks' Reserve store concept have committed to spaces in the area.

Several other big retailers are scouting the area, some of which are looking for big, multilevel spaces, Garrison said.

“I think we're close to reaching a tipping point for retail on Fulton and Randolph where we'll see a lot more soft goods,” he said.

RENTS, VALUES UP

A few blocks southwest of the Isaacson & Stein property, R2 also recently bought a retail property at 1000 W. Washington Blvd., across the street from McDonald's future headquarters.

Retailers' interest in the area has pushed up rents and real estate values. Chicago-based Sterling Bay recently struck a deal to sell several Fulton Market buildings to New York-based Feil Organization for about $35 million—after buying the buildings for a combined $14 million in 2013 and 2014 and signing new retail leases.

Isaacson & Stein's third-generation owners, Sherwin and Pam Willner, were represented in the Sept. 30 sale by Coldwell Banker commercial and residential broker Kelly Wong.

The business will remain in the building through the end of this year before R2 begins its redevelopment, Garrison said. Pam Willner declined to comment on the sale, or whether the business plans to continue operating elsewhere.

Isaacson & Stein receives shipments of 10 tons of seafood each week from Greece, Brazil, Costa Rica, Hawaii, Florida, the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean, according to the company's website.