Kinship lands big refi on Loop office tower it hoped to sell

The Chicago firm had been shopping the 28-story building for $120M

Kinship Capital principals Ethan Meers and Nick Thomson with a rendering of 225 W. Washington
Kinship Capital principals Ethan Meers and Nick Thomson with a rendering of 225 W. Washington

Kinship Capital landed an $85 million refinancing on the Loop office tower it calls home, the same property it had been looking to sell.

In May, the private real estate investment firm put on the market the 484,000-square-foot building at 225 West Washington Street, hoping to get $120 million for it.

Heitman Capital Management provided the debt. Kinship previously refinanced the 28-story tower with a $50 million loan in 2011, according to Cook County records. It spent nearly $10 million on capital improvements after acquiring the building, including upgrades to its main lobby, common areas and elevators, CBRE said last year.

Kinship, for now, joins the trend of owners choosing to refinance properties rather than sell, allowing them to take advantage of rising property values without relinquishing an asset. At one point last year, refinancings accounted for 61 percent of U.S. loan volume, up from 45 percent in 2015, according to Real Capital Analytics.

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A spokesperson for Kinship did not immediately return a request for comment.

The company bought the building for $69 million in 2010 from a joint venture of Anglo Irish Bank and Chicago-based developer Golub & Company. That duo had faced a default on more than $100 million in loans on the property, which they bought for $100 million in 2005, according to Crain’s.

Kinship manages the multibillion-dollar investment portfolio of pharmaceutical magnate Gideon Searle’s descendants, according to Crain’s. It also owns a mix of office, apartment and industrial properties in Colorado, California and Florida, according to Real Capital Analytics.