CIM, Morguard look to cash in on Block 37 luxury apartments

The joint venture is looking to sell the 34-story luxury apartment tower atop the Block 37 mall

Marquee at Block 37 with CIM Group’s Shaul Kuba and Morguard CEO Rai Sahi 
Marquee at Block 37 with CIM Group’s Shaul Kuba and Morguard CEO Rai Sahi

CIM Group and Morguard are looking to cash out in a big way on the luxury apartment tower atop the Block 37 mall in the Loop.

The joint venture is selling the 690-unit Marquee at Block 37 at 25 West Randolph Street, which could fetch in the area of $300 million, according to Crain’s.

Los Angeles-based CIM Group and Canada-based Morguard tried to sell the property for $414 million two years ago but couldn’t find a buyer. They then opted to refinance the building with a $225 million mortgage, using part of the proceeds to pay off a $110 million construction loan.

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They’ve now hired Eastdil Secured to try again to sell the building, and they’re doing so when the Downtown apartment market is riding high. Rent in Class A buildings Downtown hit a record $3.26 per square foot in the first quarter, up 5.8 percent year over year, and the occupancy rate ticked up to 94.3 percent, up from 93.2 percent a year earlier.

The Marquee at Block 37 is 90 percent occupied, according to Crain’s.

The sale would mark the latest chapter in the checkered history of Block 37, which sat vacant for years until Virginia developer Mills broke ground on a mixed-use project there in 2005, according to Crain’s. Chicago-based Joseph Freed & Associates took over the project in 2006, and CIM acquired the mall out of foreclosure in 2012 before starting work on Marquee two years later. [Crain’s] — John O’Brien