Hearn Co. Acquires 55 W. Monroe St. Office Tower; John O’Donnell Plans New Office Building

By Gabriel Circiog, Associate Editor

The 803,000-square-foot office high-rise at 55 W. Monroe St. has been purchased by Hearn Co. for $136 million, ChicagoRealEstateDaily.com reports. The deal was brokered by Chicago-based Jones Lang LaSalle Inc., which announced Hearn financed the acquisition through an $86.5 million loan from Wells Fargo Bank N.A. and $21.5 in mezzanine financing courtesy of Redwood Commercial Mortgage Corp.

The 40-story office tower, formerly known as the Xerox Center, was bought from the investment arm of Jones Lang LaSalle Investment Management and is almost 75 percent leased.

On the development front, a new office project is emerging in downtown Chicago. The Chicago Sun-Times reports John O’Donnell has closed the deal for a vacant, close to half-acre parcel at 400 W. Randolph, on the west bank of the river, in December.

The former executive of John Buck Co., said he would like to build a 40- to 50-story office building that would cover between 900,000 square feet and 1.2 million square feet, similar to the Wacker Drive buildings erected during his time at Buck. Located alongside Amtrak-owned railroad tracks, the planned building is targeting tech-oriented companies and enjoys close access to commuter stations.

O’Donnell has teamed up with architect James Goettsch, president of Goettsch Partners Inc., and the leasing will be handled by Drew Nieman, principal of Colliers International, who in the past handled a Buck project in Abu Dhabi and filled the Sears Tower with tenants.

Michael Reschke controlled the property and had proposed in the past twin residential towers, but he said the current economic situation made it difficult to finance the $450 million project, which required around $200 million in equity.

Photo Credits: Zol87 via Flickr.