"This is one of the finest-looking properties I've ever bought in a sale-leaseback," says Inland Real Estate Acquisitions chairman Joe Cosenza. "Driving up to these two black towers, with their excellent view of the Chicago skyline, is a breathtaking experience."

Besides acquiring two high-profile buildings at $154 per sf that are immediately 100% leased, the REIT has another reason for buying an asset outside of the Western US and retail sector, Cosenza says. "For us, it affords us a tremendously good stream of stable rental income," he says.

US Equities Realty's most recent market report pegs vacancy in the Northwest suburban submarket at 24.8%, the worst outside of the East-West Corridor. The deal comes days after the two-building, 550,000-sf Meadows Corporate Center changed hands at just $84 per sf. Chicago-based Golub & Co. and Boston-based Intercontinental Real Estate Corp. paid a reported $46 million for the office buildings at 2550 and 2850 W. Golf Rd. along the Northwest Tollway in neighboring Rolling Meadows.