Ryan Companies’ efforts to redevelop a distressed suburban office complex received a big boost from JLL’s decision to lease 67,000-square-feet in the project.
Minnesota-based Ryan in 2016 paid $5 million for the 18-acre Oakmont Point office complex in Westmont, with plans for a $50 million redevelopment, according to Crain’s. Ryan demolished the middle portion of the complex but kept a 95,000-square-foot structure where JLL is moving, according to Crain’s.
JLL will consolidate three of its west suburban offices into the space in the complex, moving about 350 employees in the process.
Ryan is rehabbing a 55,000-square foot building on the site, and it also plans to erect a 120,000-square-foot office building on a parking lot, according to Crain’s.
Former owner Griffin Capital bought the complex in 2007 for $35.7 million but was hit with a foreclosure suit in 2014, according to Crain’s. Griffin handed the property over to its lender, who then sold it to Ryan for $5 million.
The success of Ryan’s redevelopment project could be a boost for the suburban office market, which has seen a number of major corporations like McDonald’s and Motorola Solutions move to Downtown Chicago. Despite the relocations, suburban office landlords have kept vacancy rates relatively stable, with rents even creeping up at the end of 2018. [Crain’s] — Joe Ward