SCHAUMBURG, ILL. — JLL has secured a $333 million loan for the development of Zurich North America’s new headquarters facility in Schaumburg, a Chicago suburb. The credit tenant lease (CTL) financing will fund the acquisition of 40 acres of land and construction of a 735,000-square-foot, build-to-suit office complex.
Instead of owning its headquarters, the insurance company will lease the property from Atlanta-based Stonemont Financial Group, an investment firm specializing in single-tenant net leases for build-to-suits.
“Zurich North America is a very strong credit tenant. This made the CTL financing extremely appealing to the lending community,” says Brion Haist, executive vice president of JLL’s Capital Markets division. “The loan is structured to align with the lease, benefiting both the landlord and the tenant.”
The company’s current headquarters, comprised of two 20-story towers, is also in Schaumburg. The new facility, which Zurich will lease for 25 years from the time of opening, is slated for completion in late 2016.
Clayco, with offices in Chicago and St. Louis, is serving as lead developer and design-builder on the project. Goettsch Partners, also based in Chicago, is designing the core and shell of the property, as well as the parking structures. New York-based CannonDesign is the interior architect.
A Stonemont venture is acquiring the land from Motorola Solutions Inc., according to ChicagoRealEstateDaily.com. The same source also reports that Wells Fargo Bank N.A. is the trustee for a syndicate of life insurance companies that is providing the loan.
Schaumburg is approximately 30 miles northwest of downtown Chicago and just 10 miles west of O’Hare International Airport. The city will provide up to $100 million in tax-increment financing for the Zurich project, contingent upon the development cost totaling more than $325 million and the company employing at least 1,000 workers.
“Chicago’s suburban submarket is rapidly gaining strength with a flurry of sales and lease renewals in the first quarter of 2014,” says Bruce Westwood-Booth, managing director of JLL’s Capital Markets division. “The fact that one of the largest insurance companies in the world is choosing to remain here is proof of the solid trajectory of the submarket.”
In securing the financing, Managing Director John Musgjerd led a JLL team that included Haist, Westwood-Booth, Meredith O’Connor, Guy Ponticiello, Bill Cavagnaro, Jim Plummer and Jerry Riordan. The loan matures in 2037, approximately five years before the initial lease term ends.
In North America, Zurich is a leading commercial property-casualty insurance provider serving the global corporate, middle-market, specialties and programs sectors. Worldwide, the company employs more than 55,000 workers.
— John McCurdy