Magellan, JPMorgan looking to sell Aqua tower apartments

Magellan Development and JPMorgan Asset Management are looking to sell the apartment portion of the 86-story Aqua tower in Lakeshore East.

The two firms hired JLL to market the 474 units on floors 19 through 52, nearly 1,000 underground parking spaces and 56,000 square feet of office and retail space at the base of the distinctive building, according to the Chicago Tribune. The sale does not include the Radisson Blu hotel below the apartments or the condominiums above.

The apartments are 97 percent leased, JLL’s Liz Gagliardi said, which is noteworthy even in light of other strong indicators for the Downtown apartment market, where Class A occupancy stood at 94 percent and rents reached a record high in the second quarter.

JLL declined to say how much the owners are seeking, and the only other sale involving the building at 225 North Columbus Drive was when JPMorgan paid Magellan $182 million for a majority stake in 2010.

Aqua architect Jeanne Gang is also designing the nearby Vista Tower, which will become Chicago’s third-tallest building when it’s finished in two years. Magellan’s partner on that project, Dalian Wanda, is selling its stake in the building to Triple Five Group.

Magellan and Australian-based partner Lendlease last month unveiled revised plans for three new residential towers that would add 1,700 new apartments in Lakeshore East. [Chicago Tribune] — John O’Brien