CHICAGO—Cole Real Estate Investments has purchased the Hillshire Brands Co. headquarters here in the West Loop for $97.5 million
Sterling Bay Cos. reportedly bought the empty 233,869-sq.-ft. building in 2012 for $10 million, and spent about $50 million to build-out the property for the Sara Lee meat product spinoff firm. All of the infrastructure and building components were completely redone with Hillshire’s build-out of the property, and windows were added on all four exposures, expanding the amount of natural light.
“This was a unique opportunity to acquire a Class A, single-tenant office in the desirable West Loop of Chicago,” said Boyd Messmann, senior vice president of office and industrial acquisitions, who represented Cole in the transaction. “One of the key factors was the long-term lease – nearly 15 years – with an investment-grade tenant.”
Cole bought the office through its affiliate Cole Corporate Income Trust Inc. With this transaction, CCIT’s investment portfolio consists of 27 wholly-owned properties in 15 states, totaling approximately 4.6 million sq. ft.with a purchase price of approximately $731.1 million, according to the firm.