HFF Brings in Buyer, Financing for Chicago Tower

By Barbra Murray, Contributing Editor

HFF recently pulled double duty at 200 West Adams in Chicago, closing the $168.3 million sale of the 683,800-square-foot office building on behalf of Sterling Equities and Lincoln Property Co., and securing acquisition financing  for the buyer, Gerding Edlen.

Sited in the West Loop area, the 32-story 200 West Adams first opened its doors to tenants in 1985, offering 32 stories of office accommodations and ground-level retail space. Today, the LEED Gold-certified building is 91 percent leased to a list of occupants that includes the U.S. General Services administration, BMO Harris and Lowis & Gellen. The investment community responded well to the offering—and for good reason.

“200 West Adams was offered at a substantial discount to replacement cost with rents that are well below market rates.  The wide gap between current in-place rents and current market rents combined with the near-term rollover of more than 50 percent provides an investor with a substantial return throughout the holding period,” Jeff Bramson, senior managing director with HFF, said in a prepared statement.

Gerding Edlen, with the assistance of HFF, secured a $134 million, three-year, floating-rate loan through AEW Capital Management L.P. for the purchase of the property.

HFF has closed more than a few deals in Chicago this year. Transactions include the sale of the 522,800-square-foot building at 525 W. Van Buren, which fetched $135 million, and the $185 million sale of 550 West Adams, a 484,000-square-foot tower.