Investors affiliated with design-build firm ARCO/Murray have a contract to buy a loft office building just east of Chicago’s Fulton Market with plans for the construction firm to consolidate multiple downtown offices there.
The venture is close to finalizing a purchase of the seven-story building at 549 W. Randolph St. for about $14 million, according to people familiar with the situation.
ARCO/Murray already is a small tenant in the brick structure that straddles the Loop business district and Fulton Market, leasing almost 8,500 square feet, CoStar data shows.
In the coming years, the company plans to move into multiple floors in the high-vacancy property, eventually bringing together workers in spaces at 311 W. Huron St. in River North and 500 W. Monroe St. in the Loop business district, according to people familiar with the situation.
The deal is similar to the $14 million sale completed this week across the street in a similar seven-story building at 550 W. Randolph.
In that deal, Chicago real estate firm R2 teamed up with bicycle parts maker SRAM to buy the vacant property, with SRAM planning to occupy about half the space in a headquarters move from nearby space in Fulton Market.
Completed in 1909, the building at 549 W. Randolph is 39% vacant, according to CoStar data.
It last sold to local investors for $34.95 million in 2019, less than a year before the onset of COVID-19, according to Cook County property records. That deal was backed by a loan of just over $29.8 million from Heitman.
Those owners surrendered the building to Heitman via deed in lieu of foreclosure in December 2022, public records show.
ARCO/Murray declined to comment on the pending deal. Heitman did not respond to requests for comment from CoStar News.
ARCO/Murray is headquartered in west suburban Downers Grove. It is an affiliate of national construction giant ARCO. ARCO/Murray’s projects have ranged from large warehouses to Topgolf driving ranges throughout the country.
In late 2022, investors affiliated with ARCO/Murray bought a four-story office building at 3113 Woodcreek Drive in Downers Grove for $3.15 million, according to DuPage County property records.
The Randolph Street building’s location, along Metra and Chicago Transit Authority train stations and downtown expressways, provides transportation links between the city and suburbs.
For the record
The seller is represented by Cushman & Wakefield brokers Tom Sitz and Cody Hundertmark.