Dealmaker: JLL Arranges $89M for Office Complex

JLL, Chicago, arranged an $89.4 million long-term loan to refinance Commerce Plaza, a 556,500-square-foot office complex in Oak Brook, Ill.

Property owners Zeller Realty Group, Chicago, and Olympus Ventures LLC, Minneapolis, received a fixed-rate non-recourse loan from PGIM Real Estate Finance, Newark, N.J.

Managing Directors David Hendrickson and Keith Largay led the JLL team handling the transaction with Associate Derek Siadak.

Largay said several life companies and commercial mortgage-backed securities lenders expressed interest in the deal. “This transaction proves that lenders are willing to be aggressive in financing high-quality, well-located suburban office assets,” he said.

Commerce Plaza includes three seven-story office buildings on an 18-acre parcel adjacent to Oakbrook Center, one of the 15 largest regional malls in the country. Since acquiring the asset in 2016, Zeller and Olympus have renewed and expanded some of the property’s major tenants, including multinational food processing company Treehouse Foods. The complex was 96.8 percent leased at closing.

JLL also sold and secured financing for Philadelphia’s 1760 Market Street. Managing Director James Galbally and Senior Vice President Brett Grifo represented the seller, a joint venture between Alterra Property Group and Stockton Real Estate Advisors, both headquartered in Philadelphia, when it sold the 127,000-square-foot office tower to Chelsea/Village Associates for $31.5 million.

KeyBank provided a five-year loan.

“This was a unique opportunity for an investor to acquire a boutique office building with a trophy address and the potential for immediate value creation,” Galbally said. “The size of the asset coupled with the location resulted in an extremely competitive bid process, resulting in offers from a diverse group of investors including local, regional and international buyers.”

Situated between Rittenhouse Square and the new Comcast Innovations and Technology Center in the city’s central business district, 1760 Market Street has undergone extensive upgrades including a revamped lobby and entryway, refurbished elevator cabs and new building systems such as water pumps, a fire/life safety system and a gas-fired emergency generator.