Real Capital Solutions to Buy Naperville Office Building

A Colorado investor is under contract to purchase another Chicago-area office building, this time in the suburbs.

Real Capital Solutions agreed to buy MetroWest, a 10-story office building at 55 Shuman Boulevard in Naperville, according to people familiar with the transaction and first reported by CoStar. The deal has yet to close, but if completed, the acquisition would mark the latest in a string of opportunistic buys by the Louisville, Colorado-based firm, which has been aggressively targeting discounted office buildings across the country.

The strategy hinges on acquiring properties at steep markdowns from pre-pandemic valuations, with the expectation of long-term recovery, according to the publication.

The Naperville property carries both architectural pedigree and leasing challenges. Designed by the late architect Helmut Jahn and completed in 1986, the 207,714-square-foot building sits along the I-88 corridor. But like many suburban office buildings, it has struggled with vacancy, sitting more than 32 percent empty when it was marketed for sale last fall, according to the outlet.

Pricing for the deal wasn’t disclosed, but it is expected to come in well below the $32.5 million that seller Equus paid for the building in 2015. The offering was marketed as a chance to buy a recognizable building at a basis low enough to justify leasing risk, the outlet reported.

Real Capital Solutions has been focusing on that strategy. In January, the firm paid $132.5 million for the tower at 401 North Michigan Avenue in downtown Chicago, the city’s priciest office trade since 2022, though still at a discount to the property’s prior debt. It has also been active in markets like Dallas and is reportedly raising a $400 million fund focused on distressed office acquisitions.

Locally, the firm is no stranger to Naperville. It previously acquired the nearby Naperville Corporate Center in a roughly $38.7 million deal in 2018.

The seller, represented by Newmark brokers, joins a growing list of landlords exiting suburban office buildings at a loss. Newtown Square, Pennsylvania-based Equus recently sold another west suburban complex in Oakbrook Terrace at a significant discount to its prior purchase price.

— Eric Weilbacher