Middleton Makes Another Big Bet on Suburban Office

The company’s newest acquisition is a two-building, 230,754-square-foot office complex located at 5400 and 5500 Pearl St. in Rosemont, IL.

CHICAGO—In its second significant suburban Chicago office acquisition in four months, Middleton Partners, a Northbrook, IL-based real estate investment firm, has acquired Balmoral Business Campus. The two-building, 230,754-square-foot office complex is located at 5400 and 5500 Pearl St. in Rosemont, IL.   

As reported in GlobeSt.com, last fall Middleton acquired Tallgrass Corporate Center, a class A, 533,365-square-foot office complex in southwest suburban Bolingbrook, from Equus Capital Partners, Ltd., for more than $65 million. The 100% leased property has a distinctive profile, partly because it provides nearly half of the office space in a submarket more known for industrial use, and Middleton officials consider it a great long-term investment. And the Balmoral campus also has qualities that set it apart from its peers.

“It is rare to find a property with this level of infrastructure, above-average parking, large 30,000-square-foot floor plate, and building amenities that also has such significant location and access benefits,” says Mitchel A. Greenberg, a principal with Middleton.

The company has retained Colliers International as its exclusive property leasing and management firm. Francis Prock and Darryl Silverman, both principals with Colliers, will lead the leasing efforts.

The seller, TA Associates, was represented by CBRE’s Paul Lundstedt, executive vice president, and Dan Deuter, senior vice president. The sale price was not disclosed.

Constructed in 2001, Balmoral Business Campus is approximately 85% leased, with a vast majority of the space occupied by institutional-quality tenants. 5400 Pearl is a three-story building totaling 97,517 square feet. The laboratory testing arm of Advocate Health and Hospital System occupies about 85% of the space. 5500 Pearl is a four-story, 133,237-square-foot building occupied primarily by Xerox Corp. In 2017, a two-floor, 70,000-square-foot contiguous block of space will open up.

Balmoral Business Campus sits directly west of I-294 and south of I-190. The recently completed Balmoral Ave. exit and Mannheim connection now gives the property almost immediate access O’Hare Airport. Furthermore, the Village of Rosemont plans to open “The Pearl District”, a new mixed-use development that will feature as many as three new restaurants and a hotel, just across the street from the campus.

“With a covered parking ratio over 5.5 cars per 1,000 square feet leased, Balmoral Business Campus offers the highest covered parking ratio in the area,” Prock says. “Additionally, the property’s dual power feeds from separate sub stations and modern class A finishes will be very significant selling point to many tenants.”