CHICAGO-Tishman Speyer has completed the acquisition of 353 N. Clark for $385 million, about $35 million less than it cost seller Mesirow Financial to build the tower that was finished in October 2009. Mesirow had owed roughly $374 million from construction loans that were coming due.

The 1.2-million-square-foot tower in the city’s River North submarket was pre-leased to tenants that include anchors Jenner & Block and Mesirow itself. However, the property never got further than its current occupancy of 79%. Bruce Miller, managing director with Jones Lang LaSalle, tells GlobeSt.com that it was just the perfect storm for the developer.

“The building was delivered in a tough leasing market, it was really one of the worst times we’ve seen in more than 10 years,” Miller says. “We took it from 65% to 79%, but just getting that extra bit wasn’t possible in the market that we’re in.” Miller, Jim Postweiler and Jascint Vukelich from JLL represented Mesirow in the sale, while Dave Hendrickson, Mike Melody and Jimmy Board arranged acquisition financing. JLL had also managed and leased the property.

Mesirow had owned about $330 million in construction financing to Munich-based Hypo Real Estate Holding, as well as $44 million in a mezzanine loan to locally-based Transwestern Investment Co. Mesirow had partnered with Friedman Properties Ltd., also based in Chicago, in building the tower.

Tishman is making inroads into investing in Chicago, already owning One North Franklin, 161 N. Clark, 10 & 30 South Wacker, the Civic Opera Building and 30 N. LaSalle. The company is the largest owner in the city of class A buildings, said Casey Wold, senior managing director with the company. “This property is a great addition to our world-class office portfolio and the acquisition demonstrates our confidence in the Chicago market,” he said in a statement Wednesday.