CHICAGO—KBS Real Estate InvestmentTrust III bought 500 W. Madison last December forabout$425 million and had high hopes that tenant demand for class Aspace in the West Loop would help fill up the property. Theinvestor hired Transwestern to handle leasing, andthe move appears to have paid off. Transwestern officials say thatthey have secured leases totaling 73,000-square-feet in Decemberalone, bringing total leasing activity at the building to145,000-square-feet for all of 2014. KBS has extensive capitalimprovements underway and tenants now occupy 95% of the 1.5million-square-foot building.
“KBS's strategy to reposition 500 W.Madison as a premier office address in Chicago through majorcapital improvements and new tenant amenities secures thebuilding's status as one of the most desirable office destinationsin the city,” says Transwestern's MichaelLirtzman, the executive vice president who, along withCourtney Baratz, vice president, lease thebuilding for KBS.
In December, HERE NorthAmerica, a division of Nokia, leased8,559-square-feet in its third expansion this year, increasing itsoccupancy in the building to about 58,000-square-feet. In addition,National Financial Partners Corp. signed a leaseextension and expansion for a total of 36,000-square-feet.
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Brian J. Rogal
Brian J. Rogal is a Chicago-based freelance writer with years of experience as an investigative reporter and editor, most notably at The Chicago Reporter, where he concentrated on housing issues. He also has written extensively on alternative energy and the payments card industry for national trade publications.
