Chicago-based real estate development and investment firm Sterling Bay is set to sell 1330 W. Fulton Street, which they developed in 2017 and which serves as their corporate headquarters. German real estate firm Commerz Real will acquire the Fulton Market property for approximately $175 million.
The sale, first reported by Crain’s, would constitute around $600 per square foot. While lower than what Sterling Bay had been shopping the property for, it would still be the largest per-square-foot office deal of the year. Sterling Bay has tapped Eastdil Secured to conduct the sale of the building.
Also known as Fulton West, 1330 W. Fulton Street is a 290,000-square-foot, nine-story office building that was designed by Gensler and constructed by Leopardo. The modern office features balconies, a private roof deck, seating areas, fire pit and outdoor grilling amenities as well as a parking garage. Aside from Sterling Bay, other tenants include Skender, Glassdoor, The AZEK Company and The Climate Corporation.
Sterling Bay has been the tip of the spear for the transformation of Fulton Market from meat packing district to one of the hottest office destinations in the country. They developed the Midwest headquarters for Google and later brought McDonald’s in from the suburbs. Other projects in the area include 333 N. Green Street, marketed as GR333N and which recently leased space to EY; the 14-story Hyatt House Hotel and 210 N. Carpenter, a 206,000-square-foot office building that recently refinanced for $84 million.
This is not the first foray into Chicago real estate for Commerz Real, a division of financial giant Commerzbank AG. Last October, they paid $200 million for 125 S. Clark Street in Chicago’s Loop. Blue Star Properties redeveloped and rebranded the building as The National, best known for Revival Food Hall, a 24,000-square-foot food collective.