Urban Innovations has acquired two office buildings in the Greektown neighborhood of Chicago totaling 150,000 square feet with a purchase price of $14 million. Urban Innovations previously owned the properties and sold them in 2005 to a private investor.
Urban Innovations bought the 60,000-square-foot office building located at 833 W. Jackson Blvd. along with the 90,000-square-foot property at 322 S. Green St. as a value-added investment. The buildings sit adjacent to one another, separated by a parking lot that services the properties. The company plans to renovate the buildings’ exteriors, common areas, lobbies, restrooms and vacant spaces.
“We have a strong presence within the high-end, loft-style commercial buildings in Chicago and these properties remain in line with our vision,” said Mike Scilingo, Urban Innovations president. “River North is a sought after location for our type of property, so our natural progression is to head back into the West Loop. We want to be able to continue to offer our tenants Class A like amenities without the downtown price tag.”
Current tenants within the new portfolio include: CAN TV, University of Illinois, Incisent Labs Group and Family Health Network, a Chicago-based nonprofit occupying nearly 24,000 square feet. Since closing, Urban Innovations has signed 13,000 square feet of new leases and renewals, raising the total occupancy of the properties to 76 percent.
Aaron Zaretsky, leasing director of Urban Innovations, represented the firm in the transaction and John Slivka of CBRE worked on behalf of the seller, Wells Fargo N.A.
