An East Coast investor bought three Chicago office properties in what would mark the biggest local purchase of its type since the pandemic.
New York-based Opal Holdings is completing a $660 million deal to buy the eight-story Highland Landmark II office building at 3025 Highland Parkway, as well as a 50-story office tower at 35 W Wacker Drive and the Corporate 500 office campus in suburban Deerfield, Crain’s Chicago Business reported.
If all three deals are completed, the number of Chicago office properties sold this year would jump by 50 percent.
Many companies have moved to smaller offices or eliminated them altogether since the pandemic, driving down demand. Unfettered, Opal spent more than $1 billion this year buying offices in a spree that includes Texas, New Jersey and North Carolina.
The 1.1 million-square-foot Leo Burnett building on Wacker Drive will cost Opal $420 million, making it the priciest local office purchase since Sterling Bay bought Prudential Plaza for $680 million in 2018. While Opal will pay more for the tower than its current owner, UBS Realty Investors, did in 2011, the building is almost fully leased and is expected to bring in more than $30 million in net operating income.
The four-building, 696,770-square-foot office complex in north suburban Deerfield will cost Opal more than $185 million. The complex is best known for housing the Caterpillar headquarters. Once the deal closes, it will be one of the most expensive suburban office sales in almost 20 years.
Opal will pay almost $55 million for the Highland Landmark II, located in Downers Grove. The property is mostly occupied and has been updated over the years. Tenants include Microsoft and Advocate Aurora Health.
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[Crain’s] — Victoria Pruitt