A financially distressed office building near Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport is for sale after a recent lease for the corporate headquarters of retailer Claire’s boosted its value.
Newmark brokers have been hired to sell Columbia Centre III, a 255,486-square-foot building at 9525 W. Bryn Mawr Ave. in Rosemont, Illinois, according to a brochure.
The offering comes after an April announcement of the 43,214-square-foot lease with Claire’s in a relocation from northwest suburban Hoffman Estates.
The lease by the retailer known for ear piercings and inexpensive jewelry boosted the building’s occupancy to about 75% and the weighted average lease term to about five years, according to the Newmark materials.
Increased occupancy and rental revenue could make the nine-story building easier to finance for an investor looking to add value with additional leasing.
That deal could help minimize the loss for bondholders of the commercial mortgage-backed securities loan on the property, after the previous owner, Canada’s Adventus Realty Trust, lost control of it.
Newmark was hired to sell the building by Argentic, the special servicer for the loan on the property that was seized by the lender last year via a deed in lieu of foreclosure, a form of voluntary surrender, according to Cook County property records.
The property was taken back on behalf of bondholders in the CMBS loan after Adventus was hit with a $29 million foreclosure suit.
There is no asking price, but someone familiar with the property estimated it could sell in the mid-$20 millions, in the range of $100 per square foot.
Argentic did not immediately respond to a request for comment from CoStar News.
Newmark is marketing Columbia Centre III as an opportunity to capitalize on amenities such as a fitness center equipped by the largest tenant, Life Fitness, and a Morton’s The Steakhouse restaurant.
Completed in 1989, the building is near interstates 90 and 294 as well as O'Hare.
For the record
The seller is represented by Newmark brokers Jim Postweiler, Peter Harwood, Derek Fohl, Jack Trager and Mary Gilbank.