Guardian Realty enters Chicago office market with $48M Arlington Heights building buy

The New York firm landed a loan from JPMorgan for the Northwest Crossings complex

1421 Shure Drive, Arlington Heights (Credit: Guardian Realty)
1421 Shure Drive, Arlington Heights (Credit: Guardian Realty)

UPDATE, Nov. 20, 9:40 p.m.: Guardian Realty bought an Arlington Heights office building for $48 million, giving it a toehold in the Chicago office market.

The New York-based firm bought the building at 1421 West Shure Drive in Skokie from Northbrook-based Torburn Partners, according to Cook County Records.

JPMorgan provided a $29.4 million loan for the acquisition, according to records.

Torburn bought the 1.1 million Northwest Crossings complex in 2013 and then tore down one of the five buildings on the 64-acre property to make way for a repurposing of 1421 West Shure, according to OKW Architects.

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After the building was overhauled Torburn signed HSBC North America Holdings to an 11-year, 162,000-square-foot anchor lease in the building. Other tenants include defense contractor Northrop Grumman, which leases 42,000 square feet.

Overall, the suburban office vacancy rate inched higher in the third quarter, after three previous quarters where it held steady or dropped. But there has also been a trend among firms of moving into the city to lure more employees. The vacancy rate rose to 23.7 percent, up from 23 percent at the end of the second quarter.

Despite rising vacancies, rents still appeared to be on the upswing, according to a different report.

This story has been updated to remove incorrect information about Guardian’s portfolio.