Sterling Bay and institutional investors advised by J.P. Morgan Asset Management have acquired the approximately 1.65 million-square-foot former Montgomery Ward catalog warehouse located at 600 W. Chicago Ave. from Chicago-based real estate investment trust Equity Commonwealth.
The sales price was $510 million, making it Sterling Bay’s largest deal to date.
Located on the east side of the Chicago River’s North Branch, the property is 94 percent leased. In addition to Groupon, tenants include Echo Global Logistics, Uptake Technologies, Jump Trading, Big Ten Network and venture capital firm Lightbank.
The purchase of 600 W. Chicago Ave., one of two Chicago properties remaining in Equity Commonwealth’s portfolio, is the latest in a string of high-profile deals for Sterling Bay, which recently acquired a 17.8-acre Fleet Management site and a 2.2-acre site as part of its Lincoln Yards development on Chicago’s north side, closing both deals at $104.7 million and $11.45 million, respectively. Sterling Bay is also currently developing McDonalds’ new global headquarters building in Chicago’s Fulton Market district.