CHICAGO – U.S. Equities Realty announced it completed the sale of the Grand Plaza East Tower located at 540 North State Street to London based Strategic Real Estate Advisors (StratREAL®). U.S. Equities Realty represented the sellers and StratREAL was represented by Carter Real Estate. 

“We are thrilled to have completed the sale of one of the premier rental properties in Chicago which we are proud to have co-developed with Magellan/Loewenberg Partnership and the Cataldo/Marovitz Group,” states Camille Julmy, Vice Chairman of U.S. Equities Realty.  “Our tenants have enjoyed the best amenity package of any rental building in the City and I’m confident they will continue to receive the kind of high quality service they have enjoyed under our ownership.”

This 471,077 square foot, 56 story mixed-use building has an unparalleled selection of 481 distinctive residential units, a 1,000-space parking garage, swimming pool, running track, putting greens, club room, business center, and 108,000 square feet of retail on the first two levels. The 3-year old property was developed as the finest mixed-use apartment / retail / parking complex in Chicago’s history.  Both the residential and retail areas are 100% leased, with the retail tenants including the first ever urban Jewel store; Bed Bath and Beyond; Instituto Cervantes; National City Bank; Harris Bank and Brazzaz Brazilian Steakhouse.  StratREAL will continue to run the building as a rental property and onsite management will continue to be performed by NNP Residential and U.S. Equities Realty.

“Grand Plaza will be our first major acquisition in downtown Chicago and the first fully developed apartment tower in our portfolio. Recognized as one of the finest luxury apartment residences in Chicago, Grand Plaza should enjoy strong positive rental growth through active asset management” said Jeremy Gates, Managing Director of StratREAL.

In addition to this sale, U.S. Equities led the joint venture that assembled and acquired the 78,500-square-foot parcel and altered zoning to a Planned Unit Development.  U.S. Equities also oversaw the architectural design and construction of Grand Plaza.  Following the groundbreaking in 2000, the firm launched an aggressive retail marketing campaign and was responsible for signing the current retail tenants.  In 2005, U.S. Equities completed a multi-million dollar refinancing of Grand Plaza with German bank Eurohypo AG on behalf of ownership as well as sold the 37-story West Tower to Terrapin Properties who converted those units to condos.