MLL Capital, a commercial real estate investor focused on medical office, laboratory and life sciences properties, recently acquired a 63,067-square-foot medical office building located at 1945 W. Wilson in Chicago’s Ravenswood neighborhood. Cushman & Wakefield brokered the transaction on behalf of ownership.
The Boston-based firm will make targeted capital improvements and rebrand the property as the Ravenswood Medical Center in hopes of diversifying the tenant roster and attracting world-class medical providers to join the likes of Advocate Children’s Medical Group Pediatrics. This is MLL Capital’s second recent investment in the Chicago area, having acquired the medical office building at Advocate Sherman Hospital in Elgin, Illinois in December 2019 as part of a national portfolio expansion.
“We’re proud of the role many of our tenants are playing to combat the pandemic and look forward to supporting their effort to deliver high-quality medical services and scientific advancement,” said Kyle O’Connor, MLL Capital president and founder. “The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrates that healthcare and scientific research are foundational elements of our society and our economy. As we emerge from the crisis, we believe that healthcare and scientific advancement will have a renewed public policy focus, providing a catalyst for further investment into and support of these fields. As a result, medical office, laboratory and life science properties remain attractive investment opportunities given their resiliency and growth potential.”
The seven-story building was constructed in 1972 as an on-campus medical office building at the former Ravenswood Hospital. Today, it serves the affluent neighborhood’s growing population of young families attracted to the urban environment. In addition to Advocate Children’s Medical Group, part of Advocate Healthcare, the largest health system in Illinois, tenants also include Northside Rheumatology and Little Steps Pediatrics.
“This latest acquisition is in line with our goal of building a $500 million portfolio of institutional assets in this sector,” said Wyndsor DePetro, MLL Capital principal. “It meets our criteria to seek well-located properties in areas with strong demographics.”
The property features an on-site parking garage, and the transit-oriented location is accessible via train by both the CTA Brown line at the Damen stop and the Metra commuter Union Pacific North line at the Ravenswood stop which are both within a few blocks.