600 West Chicago Avenue and South Dearborn Street (Credit: 600westchicago, Hines)
The 10 biggest investment sales in Chicago over the past year represented over $2.6 billion in deal value, according to a new analysis by The Real Deal. The commission spoils from those trades will be shared by Eastdil Secured, CBRE, HFF and JLL, who between them brokered all 10 deals.
In the 12-month period ending in March, the top of the investment-sales market was dominated by single-asset office building deals, the analysis, based on data from Real Capital Analytics and Cook County Records, shows. Sterling Bay emerged as the biggest buyer, teaming up with JPMorgan Asset Management to pay $510 million for 600 West Chicago Avenue. That’s the broad, low-slung 1.7-million-square-foot Groupon-anchored office building on the east bank of the Chicago River in River North. The company, lead by principals Andy Gloor and Keating Crown, is now making plays for trophy assets in the city’s downtown core, but made its name in the commercial real estate market largely by repurposing previously humdrum assets. These include Google’s Midwest headquarters in Fulton Market and a planned redevelopment of a large swath of former industrial property along the Chicago River on the border of Lincoln Park and Bucktown.
Other standouts in the top 10 list include Starwood Capital’s acquisition of 1 South Dearborn Street. Starwood announced itself locally in spanking fashion with this February purchase of the 828,000-square-foot tower for $360.5 million. Walton Street Capital was right behind it on the list, paying $360 million for 401 North Michigan Avenue in May. The firm is now hoping to sell the roughly 30,000-square-foot retail component of the property, which includes a 20,000-square-foot flagship Apple store, for nearly $175 million – just under what Walton paid for the entire 737,000-square-foot tower.
See the entire list below. And keep an eye out for more signature rankings from TRD.
| Top Investment Sales in Chicago | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| For the 12 months ending February 28, 2018 | |||||
| Rank | Property | Price | Buyer | Seller | Seller's broker |
| 1 | 600 West Chicago Avenue (office) | $510M | Sterling Bay JV JP Morgan Asset Management | Equity Commonwealth | Eastdil Secured |
| 2 | One South Dearborn (office) | $360.5M | Starwood Capital | Olen Properties | JLL |
| 3 | 401 North Michigan Avenue (office) | $360M | Walton Street Capital | Zeller Realty Group JV TIAA | CBRE |
| 4 | 181 West Madison (office) | $355M | CBRE Global Investors | HNA Property Holdings | Eastdil Secured |
| 5 | Coast at Lakeshore East at 345 East Upper Wacker Drive (apartment) | $222.5M | Morguard | Magellan Development JV JP Morgan Asset Management | CBRE |
| 6 | University Center at 525 South State Street (apartment) | $201M | AXA Investment Managers JV Blue Vista Capital | Columbia College Chicago JV DePaul University JV Roosevelt University | CBRE |
| 7 | 231 South LaSalle (office) | $162M | Beacon Capital Partners | Berkley Properties JV 601W Companies | HFF |
| 8 | 300 South Wacker Drive (office) | $155M | Golub & Company JV Alcion Ventures | Beacon Capital Partners | JLL |
| 9 | 125 South Wacker Drive (office) | $145M | Callahan Capital Properties OBO Ivanhoe Cambridge | MetLife | JLL |
| 10 | 150 North Michigan Avenue (office) | $129.25M | CBRE Global Investors | John Hancock | HFF |
| Source: The Real Deal analysis of Chicago sales transactions identified as closed in the Real Capital Analytics database and Cook County Recorder of Deeds between March 1, 2017 and February 28, 2018. | |||||