ROLLING MEADOWS, IL—Chicago-based GlenStar Properties, LLC, along with a joint venture partner, has finished the acquisition of Continental Towers, a 910,796-square-foot office complex located in northwest suburban Rolling Meadows, from CW Capital on behalf of the owner 1701 West Golf Road Holdings, LLC. They did not disclose the price. GlenStar officials say they will immediately start a robust capital improvement campaign and restore the complex to what they term its former “top of market” status.
“Continental Towers was, at the time it was built, one of the premier suburban office complexes. But over the past 10 years there has been very little investment of capital at the property,” says GlenStar principal Michael Klein. “Our goal is to bring it back to a Class A, top of market complex.”
Klein adds that they plan to spend $8 million on the campaign and begin by refurbishing the driveways and entranceways, parking lot and landscaping. Signage, restrooms, tenant corridors and lobbies will also get a fix-up, but, according to Klein, “we are looking at everything right now in order to upgrade and reposition the asset alongside its competitive set.”
Although the Continental complex may have been a top-tier location when it opened in the early 1980's, the vacancy rate in the three towers has hit about 40%. But this is not the first time GlenStar has taken on a major office complex outside the core downtown with a high vacancy rate. In 2006, for example, the firm bought the 821,000-square-foot Presidents Plaza at 8600-8700 W. Bryn Mawr Ave. for $129 million and invested about $10 million in upgrades. Last August, GlobeSt.com reported that GlenStar had signed leases for about 272,000-square-feet of space in the previous year, boosting the occupancy rate to 80%.
Current tenants of Continental Towers include Komatsu America Corporation, The Lincoln National Life Insurance Company, Advocate Health Partners, Fifth Third Bank and Chicago Title Insurance Company.
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Brian J. Rogal
Brian J. Rogal is a Chicago-based freelance writer with years of experience as an investigative reporter and editor, most notably at The Chicago Reporter, where he concentrated on housing issues. He also has written extensively on alternative energy and the payments card industry for national trade publications.
