A New York real estate developer added a pair of buildings in Fulton Market, a show of confidence that it can profit from the rapidly developing former meatpacking district.
Vista Property Group paid $26 million for two properties on adjacent blocks at 370 North Morgan Street and 413 North Carpenter Street this week, Crain’s reported. The firm bought the Morgan Street building from food wholesaler Fox De Luxe Food and the Carpenter Street property from a venture of @Properties founders Michael Golden and Thad Wong.
Vacancy rates for office buildings in downtown Chicago rose to about 18 percent in the third quarter as the pandemic keeps employees from returning. Fulton Market, where developers are bringing in new projects to meet demand, is an exception. About 785,000 square feet of new space sprouted in the first nine months in 2021, making up about 30 percent of new construction in the past year, according to JLL.
Vista’s investment in Fulton Market totals up to about $58 million. It bought a vacant 7,000-square-foot building at 400 North Morgan Street for $7 million and a fully leased 88,000-square-foot property at 401 North Morgan Street for almost $25 million, anchored by event space Morgan Manufacturing.
Meatpackers and food wholesalers have mostly sold their property to developers that have been paying a premium. Fox De Luxe Food paid about $1.2 million for its Morgan Street building 18 years ago, Cook County property records show. In August, Poultry processor Cougle Commission sold its building at 345 North Aberdeen Street to Sterling Bay for about $21 million.