Chicago developer Sterling Bay is looking to sell three properties alongside its sprawling Lincoln Yards as the firm tries to rescue the $6 billion North Side project along the Chicago River.
Sterling Bay has hired CBRE brokers to sell two development sites and a loft office building along the edge of the approximately 55-acre Lincoln Yards site, according to CBRE brochures.
CBRE is seeking one or more buyers for sites at 1901 N. Elston Ave. and 1500 W. Cortland St. that have a combined 30,028 square feet of vacant land and the 58,000-square-foot office building at 1907 N. Mendell St.
Those properties are becoming available after news recently emerged that Sterling Bay has held talks with alternative investment firm Kayne Anderson as a potential new partner in Lincoln Yards, which is one of the most ambitious real estate projects ever tackled in Chicago.
Just one Lincoln Yards building has been constructed, a life science building at 1229 W. Concord Place, and the project has been stalled after delays from COVID-19 and other factors. The lack of progress has led initial investment partners J.P. Morgan Asset Management and Lone Star Funds look to bow out of the project.
Sterling Bay has been in a race to line up potential new equity and debt to get the project, which could include a mix of office, life science research, residential and other spaces, back on track along the densely populated Lincoln Park and Bucktown neighborhoods.
Even as it has looked to restart the major mixed-use development, the firm also has unveiled plans for large apartment projects on sites alongside Lincoln Yards at 2100 N. Southport Ave., 2031-2033 N. Kingsbury St. and 1840 N. Marcey St.
It’s not clear how much Sterling Bay expects in sales of the three properties listed with CBRE. The firm did not respond to requests for comment from CoStar News.
The new batch of potential sales, previously reported by Crain’s Chicago Business, come after Sterling Bay last year sold a 122,000-square-foot industrial building alongside Lincoln Yards at 1824-1854 N. Besly Court for $4 million. The buyer was Farpoint Development, a firm led by Sterling Bay co-founder Scott Goodman, who was at Sterling Bay as the firm assembled several former industrial sites along the river and planned Lincoln Yards.
Early this year, Sterling Bay also put a large residential development site on the market for sale in Fulton Market, where the firm has played a major part in the redevelopment of the Chicago’s former meatpacking district.
Permitted uses for the newly listed properties along Lincoln Yards include office, retail, restaurant and industrial, according to the CBRE materials.
Sterling Bay bought the Mendell Street building for $8.6 million in 2018, according to Cook County property records. The only rent being paid is from two cellular antenna uses, which pay just under $64,000 annually, according to the CBRE materials.
The developer paid $3.66 million for a service station and car wash in 2018 before later clearing the site. Sterling Bay paid $3.5 million for the Cortland site in 2019.
Sterling Bay has received multiple maturity extensions on loans for the three properties now listed for sale, according to county property records.
For the Record
CBRE brokers Larry Goldwasser and Tom Svoboda are representing the seller.