123 N. Wacker Lease-Up Hits 75% Mark

"That building has gotten a lot of scrutiny from us and the investment community," says president and chief executive officer Thomas F. August in a recent conference call. "Nobody will be happy until it's 95%, 96% or 97% leased."

However, Aon Corp. vacated the building with the expiration of its lease in September 2001, August notes. "In little over a year, we've leased over 400,000 sf in that building," he adds, crediting the 537,000-sf building's appeal as well as local managing director Larry Krueger and director of leasing Andrea Saewitz.Prentiss Properties expects lease-up of 123 N. Wacker Dr. to continue through 2003.

Jeffrey P. Samaras, Kent Ilhardt and Steven Bersell of Cushman & Wakefield represented General Star Management, a subsidiary of General Reinsurance Corp. John McIlwain,Peter Block and J. Frank Franzese, also of Cushman & Wakefield also represented Moody's Investors Service, which took 5,540 sf for its third US office.

Meanwhile, Gresham Partners, LLC took 7,796 sf and management consulting firm Wellspring Partners Ltd. expanded its space by nearly 100% with a 6,858-sf deal. David O. Stein of Steinco, Inc. represented Gresham Partners, LLC while June Simonian of Grubb & Ellis Co. represented Wellspring Partners.

Although lease terms were not revealed, the average rate at the building was $30.48 per sf at the end of the third quarter, according to the REIT's most recent report. However, company officials concede they are signing deals for up to 20% lease than they anticipated when they acquired the property for $87.25 million in November 1999.