CHICAGO-A European private fund, guided by London-based Strategic Real Estate Advisors, has purchased the 56-story, mixed-use Grand Plaza apartment tower at 540 North State St. The building is worth about $300 million, says a source close to the deal. The fund is named Grand Plaza Owner LLC, based in Switzerland.
The property was developed from a venture combined of Marovitz Group, Magellan Development Group, US Equities Realty LLC, Loewenberg + Associates Inc. and Anthony Belluschi/OWP & P Architects. StratReal will run the building as a rental property, while U.S. Equities and NNP Residential will continue to perform onsite management of the building, said StratReal in a statement Jan. 24.
The 471,077-sf property includes 108,000 sf of retail on the first two levels of the building. It is on a full city block in the River North area. Both the residential and retail areas are 100% leased, with tenants including Jewel, Bed Bath and Beyond, and National City Bank. US Equities represented the seller, the Marovitz/Cataldo venture, and Carter Real Estate represented StratReal. The London-based company had previously owned the Quaker Building in Chicago and the Aon Building in Glenview, and wanted to return to the Chicago area, says Pierre Rolin, founder, chairman and chief executive officer of the company.
"We felt that Chicago is one of the most important strategic locations in the United States," Rolin tells GlobeSt.com. "We decided to take rental property because office space is very expensive in Chicago. There's more upside potential on rental right now." The sister tower, the 39-story condominium building Residences at Grand Plaza, was not included in the purchase.
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