Beacon Pays $192M for 222 S. Riverside

CHICAGO-Boston-based Beacon Capital Strategic Partners III has paid $192 million for 222 S. Riverside Plaza, a 1.1-million-sf West Loop office tower that was jointly owned by Apollo Real Estate Advisors and the John Buck Co. The deal includes a 77,000-sf Multiplex health club at 444 W. Jackson Blvd.

Deutsche Bank, Synovate and Contigroup Cos. are among the tenants in the building along the Chicago River, which was 92% leased at closing and underwent a recent renovation. Occupancy is well above average for the submarket, where 18.6% of office space is available, according to US Equities Realty’s most recent report. Published net lease rates in the building, which has access to Union Station, start at $16 per sf.

At $175 per sf, the sale appears to be a discount compared to another recently sold West Loop property built in the 1970s. Sears Tower commanded a total price of $242 per sf. “Excluding the observatory and sky deck, the price for the office portion of Sears Tower drops to approximately $165 per sf,” according to US Equities Realty.