Ivanhoé Cambridge grows its presence in Chicago’s West Loop district with the purchase of twin office buildings

Ivanhoé Cambridge announced today it has acquired 10 and 120 South Riverside Plaza, twin office buildings in the West Loop submarket of Chicago’s business district. The investment of more than US$360 million in 100% ownership of the property adds a further 130,000 m² (1.4 million ft²) of office space to the company’s portfolio, strengthening its position in this much-sought-after Chicago business area. 

“Chicago is one of the key U.S. cities we’ve set our sights on in order to build a solid national high-quality office building platform,” explained Adam Adamakakis, Executive Vice President, U.S. Investments, Ivanhoé Cambridge. “This successful transaction proves one more time how effective our partnership with Callahan Capital Properties can be in one of the most competitive real estate markets in the United States.”

The 10 and 120 South Riverside Plaza towers have both received the LEED® Gold EB certification and are superbly located on the west bank of the Chicago River, steps away from the two busiest commuter rail hubs in the city’s business district, and with both public transit and highways rapidly accessible. The 21-storey twin buildings occupy two full city blocks. Tenants enjoy abundant natural lighting and stunning views from every floor.

Setting the pace in the Chicago market

This new strategic investment in Chicago comes some 18 months after Ivanhoé Cambridge announced the start of construction on the River Point Tower, also in the West Loop, which is the largest property development project of the past five years in this major U.S. metropolis. The expected enthusiasm for this promising submarket was confirmed a few days later, with an anchor-tenant announcement: a major law firm will be leasing more than 21,000 m² (225,000 ft²) of space in the new tower.

The West Loop is Chicago’s most active real estate leasing submarket. It boasts the highest concentrations of jobs in the finance, financial services, enterprise services and real estate sectors, as well as being a choice destination for high-tech companies.

About Ivanhoé Cambridge

Ivanhoé Cambridge is a world-class real estate company that leverages its high-level expertise in all aspects of real estate including investment, development, asset management, leasing and operations, to deliver an optimal return for its investors. Through its multiple subsidiaries, its assets in more than 20 countries were valued at over Cdn$35 billion as at December 31, 2012. Ivanhoé Cambridge is a real estate subsidiary of the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (www.cdpq.com), one of Canada's leading institutional fund managers. For more information, visit www.ivanhoecambridge.com.

About Callahan Capital Properties (CCP)

Callahan Capital Properties is a real estate investment firm focused on creating value in real estate by investing in high-quality office properties and leveraging substantial experience and expertise in asset management to generate above-average risk adjusted returns. The principals of CCP have extensive experience in owning, managing and developing some of the most prominent office properties in North America.  Additionally, they have created award winning programs in customer service and sustainability.