Yesterday, GlobeSt.com reported that KBS Real Estate Investment Trust III had closed its $425 million acquisition of Citigroup Center at 500 W. Madison. And today, officials from Transwestern say KBS has named their firm the exclusive leasing agent and property manager for the 1.5-million-square-foot, class A mixed-use tower.

“We are honored to have been chosen by KBS as the leasing and management agent for 500 West Madison,” says Michael Lirtzman, executive vice president of Transwestern. “This building's appeal to office users will only be enhanced by the strategic improvements KBS intends to implement as they take ownership and make a great building even better."

With this new assignment, Transwestern officials add, the firm's leasing portfolio in Chicago's CBD has almost tripled in size in 2013, making the company one of the city's top leasing brokerage firms. The Transwestern leasing team of Lirtzman and Courtney Baratz will handle leasing duties for the property.

The original story appears below:

CHICAGO—In October, GlobeSt.com reported that KBS Real Estate Investment Trust III had agreed to acquire the Citigroup Center at 500 W. Madison. KBS officials now say they have closed on the acquisition for $425 million plus closing costs, their largest acquisition so far. The 40-story tower, one of the premier class A office developments in the vibrant West Loop neighborhood, sits atop the Ogilvie Transportation Center, one of two main train stations connecting the Chicago suburbs with downtown.

“We believe that 500 West Madison is a trophy-quality asset with highly unique work style advantages that encompasses everything KBS REIT III looks for in an investment,” says KBS REIT III CEO Charles Schreiber. The 1.5-million-square-foot building has almost 64,000-square-feet of retail space on the first two levels, is LEED Gold certified and was 93% leased at the time of purchase.

KBS REIT III started up in 2011, but has already made a number of major purchases. Earlier this month, GlobeSt.com also reported that the trust had spent around $121 million for 201 Spear St., a 246,563-square-foot class A office tower in San Francisco's South Financial District.

“We feel the West Loop has become the epicenter of new development, adaptive re-use and urban renewal in Chicago's CBD and we intend to make strategic improvements at 500 West Madison to help maintain its status as one of the top business addresses there,” says Ken Robertson, KBS central regional president. “We believe this is an iconic asset in this submarket that is literally connected to the transit grid of the entire region.”

Instant Insights /

Transwestern Chosen for 500 W. Madison

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