Parent company Buck will handle the development, financing and lease-up for the project--which is apparently a jumping-off point for Buck's national expansion. "This deal is exactly the type of transaction our JBC Fund I has been searching for to expand our presence beyond Chicago," says Buck principal Kent Swanson. "Our long-range strategy is to have Fund I portfolio properties in a number of the nation's 24-hour cities like New York; Boston; Washington DC; and, of course, Chicago."

Madison Equities pulled together the land assemblage for the project--at the southeast corner of E. 92nd St.and First Ave. The dirt adjacent to the site would also be the future home of a mixed-use project that would include a 226-key hotel and 40,000-sf medical arts building.

While the development is Buck's first venture outside of Chicago, the firm has been dealing some big numbers in its hometown, most recently with the $415-million sale of the 1.3-million-sf UBS Tower to Rreef Funds. Lend Lease was Buck's JV partner in the building.