CHICAGO — JLL Capital Markets has arranged the sale of the 833,000-square-foot office portion of the iconic Sullivan Center in Chicago for $176 million.
The buyer was New York-based 601W Companies. The seller, a venture between New York-based private equity firm KKR and Madison Capital, had owned the property since 2016.
Originally constructed in 1899 as a department store, Sullivan Center has been a national historic landmark since 1970. Between 2001 and 2012, the building underwent major renovations to modernize the mechanical systems and restore historical features at a cost of more than $200 million. The upper floors were converted to office space in the early 2000s.
The former owners of the property sold Sullivan Center’s 176,000 square feet of retail space, which includes the two lower floors and basement level, to Acadia Realty Trust in 2016 for $147 million.
“This asset received significant investor interest because of its excellent location, strong tenant base and the fact that it is one of the few larger floor plate buildings catering to the progressive tenants driving demand in this market,” says Bruce Miller, JLL’s international director who co-heads the capital markets group in Chicago. “At nearly full occupancy, it is clearly the type of property that tenants covet.”
The building, which is located on the corner of South State and East Madison streets in Chicago’s Loop, is currently 97 percent leased. The office portion features creative office space with loft ceilings and large floor plates of up to 100,000 square feet.
In addition to handling the sale, JLL also arranged acquisition financing for the buyer through Brookfield Asset Management. Keith Largay of JLL handled the financing.
“This was a competitive lending opportunity backed by an experienced sponsor and high-quality asset,” says Largay. “We continue to find very aggressive capital in the debt markets for transactions of this caliber.”
Managing Director Nooshin Felsenthal, along with Miller, led the sales process of the office portion of Sullivan Center.
— David R. Cohen