CHICAGO — CIM Group, a Los Angeles-based real estate investment firm, has agreed to acquire Four40, a 39-story, 1 million-square-foot office tower located at 440 S. LaSalle St. in Chicago’s financial district. Dallas-based TIER REIT Inc. (NYSE: TIER) is reportedly selling the asset for $200 million, according to Crain’s Chicago. Sources say the deal has not closed, however, and CIM Group declined to comment.
Crain’s also reports that between 2013-2014 the REIT sold the other three Chicago assets that it purchased in a four-property portfolio transaction in 2007. According to its 2015 financial results, TIER REIT’s goal for 2016 includes selling $200 million to $400 million of “non-strategic properties.”
Built in 1984 and renovated in 2014, the office tower features a 40,000-square-foot amenity floor for tenants, 45,000-square-foot landscaped plaza, café, underground parking, 150-seat conference room, 24-hour staffed security and bay windows that offer 180-degree views. The tower also houses the Chicago Stock Exchange, the Arciel bar and lounge, The Everest Room and The Buckingham Club and Hotel.
The Chicago Stock Exchange Inc. (CHX) signed a long-term lease renewal in May 2014 for 33,000 square feet within Four40, a consolidation of its original footprint.
In addition to the office tower, new owner CIM Group owns Block 37, a popular five-story retail center in Chicago’s Central Loop at 108 N. State St. In February, CIM Group unveiled the name of the 34-story, 690-unit apartment tower that will sit atop the northern end of Block 37 — Marquee at Block 37. The glass-clad project is set to open this summer, according to CIM Group.
CIM has recently purchased several assets in gateway markets, including Jack London Square in Oakland, Calif., and the Martha Washington Hotel in New York. According to the company’s website, the firm currently has $18.8 billion worth of assets under management.
As of Dec. 31, 2015, TIER REIT owned roughly 12 million square feet of office space with an average 89.7 percent occupancy rate. The company’s holdings included 34 office buildings in 15 select U.S. markets at year-end 2015.
TIER REIT’s stock price closed on Wednesday, April 13 at $13.81 per share, down from $17.10 per share at this time last year.
— John Nelson