Romanek wins bidding for north suburban office building

(Crain's) — Veteran developer Marvin Romanek is in negotiations to

buy an office building near the Edens Expressway for roughly $24 million

amid small signs that the investment market for suburban Chicago office

properties is beginning to stir.

Mr. Romanek is in talks to buy 400 Skokie Blvd., in Northbrook from UBS

Realty Investors LLC, according to people familiar with the

negotiations.

The price would be about $125 a square foot, those sources

say, or $24.4 million, based on a measurement of 195,326 square feet.

A transaction would come at a time when few suburban Chicago office

properties are changing hands because of buyers' concern about rising

vacancy rates and the challenges of obtaining large commercial mortgages

without putting up large amounts of capital.

Mr. Romanek, managing director of Romanek Properties Ltd., declines

comment. Representatives of Conn.-based UBS Realty, a unit of Swiss

banking giant UBS AG, and Calif.-based real estate firm Grubb & Ellis

Co., which is marketing the eight-story structure, also decline comment.

Despite the recession, 400 Skokie Blvd., is 97% leased to tenants such

as M. Holland Co., a plastics distributor that accounts for 13.2% of the

building, Grubb & Ellis says in marketing information.

Built in 1984, the building has a reputation for being a steady

financial performer because its north suburban location and expressway

access has made it a favorite of small- and mid-sized tenants such as

financial advisors and law firms.

More than a third of the tenants have been in the building for more

than 10 years, Grubb & Ellis says. Romanek is also a tenant, although

the company is a relative newcomer, moving in just two years ago.

In a national sign of the direction of the investment market, sales of

significant office properties across the country rose slightly to $1

billion in July, the third straight month in which sales increased,

Real Capital says in a July 29 report.

Nationwide, prices have fallen, in some cases sharply, Real Capital

notes.

"Nevertheless, transaction activity is looking up and sales of a

number of larger properties are pending," the report says.

Already,

deals closed in August exceed July totals and the momentum should

continue.

And while no Chicago downtown towers have been sold in more than a

year, that streak is about to end.

Related story: Ice cracks in office market