Bradford Allen Realty Services doesn’t need a Magic 8-Ball to predict the future of the Chicago suburban office market.
The real estate firm is buttoning up a deal to pay $43 million for a 224,000-square-foot office building in Downers Grove, according to Crain’s. That would be its fourth office building purchase in the burbs in more than a year.
The Chicago-based firm is banking on a resurgent suburban market, which before the most recent quarter, saw six straight quarters of falling vacancy rates, according to a JLL report. Its 23 percent vacancy in the second quarter was a fractional uptick from Q1.
And as the remote work revolution has slowed the steady flow of firms moving to Chicago, the suburban office space that is most in demand is pre-built. It’s positioned to draw firms that need satellite space outside the city.
Overall, the second quarter saw Chicago area commercial property investment sales sink to $1.8 billion, about 40 percent below 2019 activity in the same period, according to the report.
The Downers Grove property is the nine-story Finley Point, located at 3333 Finley Road, Crain’s reported.
The seller is Dallas-based private-equity firm Lone Star Funds, which acquired the property as part of a portfolio deal five years ago. Following a $2 million renovation, the building is now 90 percent leased to consulting firm Grant Thornton and Principal Financial Group, Crain’s noted, citing Cushman & Wakefield marketing material.
Cushman is also representing Lone Star in the Finley Point sale. [Crain’s] — Alexi Friedman