Vista Property plans 15-story office building in West Loop

Shrugging off the current dismal state of Chicago’s office market, Vista Property Group plans to build a 15-story office building in the West Loop.

The investment firm would develop the tower at 609 W. Randolph Street, Crain’s reported, citing a newsletter that Alderman Brendan Reilly sent his constituents. The property would rise on what is now a surface parking lot, and would retain a historic loft building next door, according to Crain’s.

A second quarter report from CBRE found that office vacancy reached its highest point in nearly a decade. In the central business district, the vacancy rate jumped to 15.1 percent, in large part because of the coronavirus crisis. That’s up from 13.8 percent in the first quarter, and came only months after the office market posted its best year. Of the 6.5 million square feet of office space under construction, less than half had been pre-leased, according to the report.

New York-based Vista is already deeply invested in Chicago, with 19 properties that comprise a majority of its 34 holdings.

In December, the company paid $17 million for a 48,000-square-foot brick office building at 435 N. LaSalle Drive, Crain’s reported. The seller was investor Michael Palumbo and Skokie-based Elmdale Partners.
In June 2018, Vista bought a 35,000-square-foot office building in Fulton Market from Sterling Bay, paying $13.6 million. [Crain’s] — Alexi Friedman