An office building in Chicago’s Evanston suburb is being marketed for $45 million by Massachusetts-based owner Franklin Street Properties, according to Newmark, which is representing the seller.
If Franklin finds a buyer for the six-story, 198,000-square-foot building at 909 Davis Street, it would be the first sale of a major Evanston office building in three years, Crain’s reported. Its offering represents a test of the market for offices as companies settle into having employees clock in at a physical workplace just three or four days a week while the pandemic wanes and remote work remains popular.
Properties in downtown Chicago have seen their valuations slashed by millions in some cases as tenants left or downsized their physical footprints amid the pandemic-fueled rise of remote work.
Similar decisions are being made by some suburban office tenants as their leases expire, leaving buildings with space to fill, a task complicated by the convenience of remote work for many companies.
The Evanston property last changed hands in 2011 when Franklin bought it for $35 million, and before that it moved in 2003 for $34 million, public records show.
The property “offers unparalleled access to transportation in a highly sought-after urban-suburban environment,” Newmark’s Jim Postweiler said.
Its tenants include Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Industrious, Aptinyx, North Shore University Health, Merrick Pet Care, Medpoint Digital and Athletico. It is 93 percent leased, Crain’s reported.
Evanston, home to Northwestern University, hasn’t seen a large office building sold since the end of 2018, when a 10-story, 127,000 square-foot property sold for more than $32 million, public records show.
While investors have been bullish on Evanston offices in the past, the market’s pace slowed amid the pandemic. Last year, an office building at 1007 Church Street was put on the market and never sold, Crain’s reported.
Along with Postweiler, Newmark’s Peter Harwood, Derek Fohl and Jack Trager are representing the seller.
[Crain’s] – Sam Lounsberry
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