Vista Property Group Pursues $34 Million Office Building at 318 North Carpenter Street

Vista Property Group is looking to acquire the eight-story office building at 318 North Carpenter Street in Fulton Market for about $34 million, or $324 per square foot. Yahoo reported the price would rank among the highest per square foot in downtown Chicago in recent years if the transaction is completed. The deal is not finalized.

Vista's $34 Million North Carpenter Deal

The 105,000-square-foot building went up for sale earlier this year, and the purchase is not finalized, according to Crain's. At $324 per square foot, the price would rank as one of the highest per square foot in the past several years in the downtown Chicago area, if the transaction is completed. Over one year ago, the $43.3 million loan backed by the property that Murphy Development Group and Creek Lane Capital snagged from PGIM Real Estate matured.

The sale price is a financial haircut for the seller yet one of the highest prices per square foot in years, another indicator that the office market in downtown Chicago is undergoing headwinds. Fulton Market has been stalwart in terms of office space price. Two separate deals this year for 1201 West Lake Street and 315 North Racine Avenue traded at $275 and $289 per square foot, respectively. In the Loop, prices have been around $100 per square foot, with one major outlier: the $392 per square foot price Zara founder Amancio Ortega paid for 1 North Wacker Drive.

The strong fundamentals must have caught Vista's eye. The most recent purchase makes its push into Fulton Market a quadruple bet, as the company is set to complete a 494-unit apartment complex at 370 North Morgan Street next year and filing plans for another residential high-rise at 400 North Morgan Street. Vista also developed a boutique office in the West Loop at 609 West Randolph Street in 2022, less than a mile away from its North Carpenter deal.

The Fulton Market office submarket has seen stronger occupancy rates than its downtown companions. In June, the property sat at 78 percent leased to nine tenants, according to the outlet. Tenants in the building had a weighted average lease term of 7.6 years.

Vista's Morgan Street Projects

Vista is set to complete a 494-unit apartment complex at 370 North Morgan Street next year. The company is also filing plans for another residential high-rise at 400 North Morgan Street. Vista developed a boutique office at 609 West Randolph Street in 2022, less than a mile from 318 North Carpenter Street.