Finance Lending
$72M Financing Closes for Windy City Office
May 7, 2008
By: Barbra Murray, Contributing Editor

A financing package valued at $72.1 million has been put in place for the 371,400-square-foot office building at 550 West Washington in Chicago.

The borrower, Beacon Capital Partners L.L.C.'s Beacon Capital Strategic Partners IV fund, has owned the Class A asset since 2006 when it acquired a 2.4 million-square-foot, four-property former Trizec office portfolio from Blackstone for about $500 million.

Landesbank Hessen-Thuringen Girozentrale (Helaba) provided 550 West Washington's financing in the form of a five-year loan at a fixed rate of 5.84 percent, which Beacon used to pay off an existing loan on the property. Situated in Chicago's West Loop submarket, the 16-story structure (pictured) was developed eight years ago by Fifield Cos. and Prudential Real Estate Investors. Today, the building is nearly 98 percent leased to a list of tenants that includes financial exchange CME group, which signed a 17-year lease for 220,000 square feet in 2006. MB Real Estate handles 550 West Washington's leasing.

Acting on Beacon's behalf, real estate services firm Holliday Fenoglio Fowler L.P. orchestrated the financing for 550 West Washington, which attracted a great deal of interest among both U.S. and international lenders. "Lenders like the same thing that attracts buyers," HFF senior managing director Mike Kavanau told CPN today. "The building is within close proximity to two major train stations and it's a very good super-core building with high-credit tenants and long lease terms. And not having lease rollover now has more value than having lease rollover."

Headquartered in Boston, Beacon is a real estate firm that engages in acquisition, development and asset management. Its investment strategy involves focusing primarily on office properties in core markets ranging from Los Angeles to New York and London to Paris.

 
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