IRA Capital paid $56 million for a medical office ground lease in Chicago.
Irvine, California-based IRA Capital bought the ground lease for the building at 3000 North Halsted in Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood from Nashville-based Healthcare Realty Trust last week, public records show.
The leasehold at the property is a medical office building operated by Illinois-based Advocate Health Care. Advocate is currently leading a massive $645 million expansion and renovation project of its Northside campuses, though it’s unclear if that includes the building at 3000 North Halsted as well.
Seller Healthcare Realty Trust specializes in investing in such properties, while IRA Capital is a private equity firm that focuses on a variety of alternative investments, according to the two firms’ websites. The move could signal a growing interest in the medical office market.
Representatives of IRA Capital and Healthcare Realty Trust did not respond to requests for comment.
The medical office market may offer refuge for investors shying away from the traditional office market. The U.S. population aged 65 and above is expected to increase from 61 million in 2024 to 70 million by 2030, a report from Colliers found. The sector’s fundamentals are supported by low supply and a 2 percent increase in medical office rents in 2025, Colliers found.
But not all investments are created equally, especially medical offices and hospitals supported by federal funding from programs like Medicare and Medicaid.
A portfolio of medical offices and safety net hospitals in Chicago and west suburban River Forest are currently stuck in limbo as investors battle over a total of $89 million in unpaid debt, public records revealed earlier this month. Amid the court battles surrounding the properties, former owner Pipeline Health made the decision to close Weiss Memorial Hospital in Uptown.
The Illinois Department of Public Health had reportedly paid several visits to the properties and found compliance issues in “nursing services, physical environment and emergency services,” healthcare news outlet Chicago Health reported in August. Specifically, its air conditioning system failed and led to overheating, forcing closures of inpatient rooms. Weiss reportedly received 87 percent of its funding from Medicare and Medicaid in 2024.