Chicago-Based Glenstar Properties Closes On 910,796-Square-Foot Continental Towers
Major capital improvement campaign to begin immediately
Chicago-based GlenStar Properties, LLC, along with an institutional capital partner has acquired Continental Towers, a 910,796-square-foot office complex located in Rolling Meadows, IL, from CW Capital on behalf of the owner 1701 West Golf Road Holdings, LLC, for an undisclosed price. GlenStar will embark on a robust capital improvement campaign immediately in order to restore the complex to its former “top of market” status.
“Continental Towers was, at the time it was built, one of the premier suburban office complexes. But over the past 10 years there has been very little investment of capital at the property,” said GlenStar Principal Michael Klein. “Our goal is to bring it back to a Class A, top of market complex.”
The $8 million capital campaign will begin with an overhaul of the driveways and entranceways, parking lot and landscaping so as to create a more inviting, and easier to navigate, entry into the complex. Signage, restrooms, tenant corridors and lobbies will follow, but, according to Klein, nothing is off the table.
“We are looking at everything right now in order to upgrade and reposition the asset alongside its competitive set.”
With the acquisition, under the current PUD, GlenStar also has the right to build up to an additional 1.0 million square feet of space with structured parking on site. Given the lack of large blocks of space in the market today, Continental Towers is one of the few sites in the suburbs that is fully approved for a new office development.
Continental Towers, the premier office destination in suburban Chicago when it debuted in the early 80s, is a three tower office complex located in Northwest suburban Chicago. Centered around an amenity rich concourse whose tenants include a 30,000-square-foot health club, dining and retail amenities, the buildings sit on a 34-acre corporate campus that provides tenants with unobstructed views in all directions, easy access to the Woodfield Retail Corridor and high visibility along I-90. Tenants include Komatsu America Corporation, The Lincoln National Life Insurance Company, Advocate Health Partners, Fifth Third Bank and Chicago Title Insurance Company.
Today, Continental Towers boasts the largest available contiguous block of office space in the Northwest market with 186,000 square feet ready for lease in Tower 2. The property is 60 percent leased.
Over the past decade, GlenStar Properties has built an impressive portfolio of high-profile properties as well as developed office, retail, residential and medical-building assets throughout the Chicago area. With the acquisition of Continental Towers, the largest acquisition in the suburbs in 2013, the firm now owns 4.85 million square feet of premier office space in Chicago including the Chicago Board of Trade, 55 and 65 East Monroe and President’s Plaza.
