MOUNT PROSPECT, IL-Opus North Corp., based in Rosemont, has sold the 464,673-sf Briarwood Business Center for $42.7 million to ING Clarion Partners, headquartered in New York City. The business center consists of two industrial buildings at 901 Dempster Ave. and 1400 Algonquin Rd. A cap rate was not disclosed.

Opus North finished construction on the two buildings this summer which are located on 27 acres, says Dave Everson, vice president of sales and finance. The buildings are currently about 25% leased. Nissin Group of Tokyo and JAS Forwarding Inc. both lease space at 901 Dempster. A lease rate was not disclosed. Rates typically here are in the range of $5.61 per sf, according to a third quarter Grubb & Ellis market report.

Opus North Corp. had acquired the land from United Airlines in November 2005 reportedly for $11.5 million. "Our business model has us selling or transferring most of our assets upon stabilization," Everson says. In this instance, however, the business center was sold shortly after being completed. ING Clarion Partners was interested in acquiring the buildings because the company "was really interested in growing their base of industrial product in the Chicago area and more specifically in the O'Hare submarket," Everson says.

The business center, which is near O'Hare Airport, is also in an area with increasing rents, increasing land costs and is located in a submarket with historically low vacancy rates. "Land is very scarce [in O'Hare, and] there is not a lot of product available," Everson says.