Starwood Capital Snaps Up Chicago Trophy Tower

By Gail Kalinoski

One South Dearborn in Chicago

Starwood Capital Group has made its first purchase in Chicago’s downtown office market, acquiring One South Dearborn, a 40-story, Class A tower in the Central Loop, for its Starwood Global Opportunity Fund X. Olen Properties was the seller.

While the purchase price was not disclosed, ING Capital LLC led a $297.6 million financing package for the acquisition of the 827,538-square-foot building at the corner of Dearborn and Madison streets. ING, as administrative agent, fully underwrote and closed a $235.1 million senior loan. Deutsche Asset Management also provided a $62.5 million mezzanine loan at closing, on behalf of one of its private investors. ING expects to syndicate a portion of the senior loan in the coming weeks.

 “The opportunity to finance One South Dearborn was very welcome given the quality of the property and the strength of downtown Chicago’s office market, which has seen a significant increase in demand over recent years due to urban migration from the suburbs,” Craig Bender, managing director & head of US Real Estate Finance at ING, said in a prepared statement.

Olen, a Newport Beach, Calif.-based firm that owns, manages and leases more than 6 million square feet of commercial space in California, Florida and Illinois, paid $350 million for the trophy tower in November 2006. At the time, Olen received a $280 million CMBS loan in the pool Wachovia Bank Commercial Mortgage Trust 2007-C30. The loan, which had a due date of Jan. 1, 2017, was paid off Dec. 20, 2016, according to data from Yardi Matrix.

Olen bought the building from Hines, which had developed the property in 2005. The tower has been anchored by Sidley Austin LLP, one of the nation’s largest law firms, since its completion. Sidley recently renewed its lease for 575,000 square feet at the property through 2030.

Other tenants include ArcelorMittal, Crown Imports, Regus and Chicago Dumpster Rental Pros. The building also includes 24,000 square feet of retail featuring Rosebud Prime restaurant and a Fifth Third Bank branch. Local media reports note Constellation Brands is leaving its 118,000-square-foot space at the building in the spring, bringing the occupancy at that time to about 88 percent.

“Starwood is very excited to add One South Dearborn to SOF X’s portfolio. It is one of the top office properties in Chicago’s Loop,” Austin Nowlin, head of Capital Markets at Starwood Capital Group, said in a prepared statement. “ING was the perfect partner for us on this transaction. They were able to move very quickly, offer competitive terms with a great deal of flexibility, and provide us with certainty of execution which was critical for this transaction.”

Starwood office deals

Also this week, Starwood Capital was in the news for selling Sawgrass Pointe I, at 230,668-square-foot, Class A office building in Sunrise, Fla., to True North for $51.1 million.

In November, Starwood Capital acquired Wells Fargo Center, a 40-story office tower and an adjacent five-story former data processing building in downtown Portland from Wells Fargo. The combined deal gave the Greenwich, Conn.-based firm more than 725,000 square feet of Class A and creative office space. The Wells Fargo Center, which rises 546 feet, is Portland’s tallest skyscraper and has panoramic views of the Oregon city and its surrounding region.

Image courtesy of ING Capital LLC