Global Investors Driving Chi. Office Market

CHICAGO—Investors across the country and from around the world continue to find Chicago one of the most attractive markets in the US. That was proven yet again this week when Heitman bought 353 N. Clark St., a 46-story tower in the River North neighbourhood, after beating out a crowded field of investors. Cook County property records show that the company paid the seller, Tishman Speyer, $715 million for the 1.2-million-square-foot property, or roughly $609 per-square-foot, the second-highest ever paid for a Chicago office building.

“We had tremendous interest in this sale,” Nooshin Felsenthal, senior vice president, JLL, tells GlobeSt.com. She and international director Bruce Miller represented the seller in the transaction. Although Felsenthal can’t disclose how many groups put in serious bids, she does say that heavy interest came from both domestic and global investors. The reason for much of that interest is simple. “It’s among the best buildings in the market and it sits in the most sought-after submarket.”