Deka Immobilien purchases office property in Chicago

Frankfurt – 07.09.2021

Deka Immobilien has acquired an office property for 169 million US dollars in Chicago, USA. The property was purchased from real estate company Sterling Bay and J.P. Morgan Asset Management. The property is to be added to the open-ended real estate fund Deka-ImmobilienMetropolen.

The high-end "210 NC" office building at 210 North Carpenter Street, Chicago, Illinois, was completed in 2019. It comprises more than 19,000 square metres of leasable space and 44 parking spaces. The entire space is used by six parties on a long-term basis — with Google LLC as the main tenant. The 12-storey building is in a central location in Chicago's Fulton Market: Laying to the west of the central business district, this district is a successful example of the urban development-taking place across the USA. Renovating historic department stores and factories alongside new developments has created a lively neighbourhood for working, living and leisure with very good transport connections. The district has proved especially popular among tech companies. The property has received Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification.

Thanks to this acquisition in the USA, Deka-ImmobilienMetropolen has made its first investment outside of Europe. Firstly, this investment will be a long-term secure cash flow with the strengths of a Class A green building in one of the most dynamic markets in the USA. Chicago is the third largest metropolitan area in the USA after New York and Los Angeles, with a population of around 9.5 million. Secondly, Deka-ImmobilienMetropolen wants to take part in the forecasted short-term recovery of the US economy after the pandemic, which are well above the European average.

Deka-ImmobilienMetropolen is aimed exclusively at private investors and makes currency-hedged investments worldwide in commercial properties located in dynamically growing metropolitan areas. Target investment markets are chosen using a city selection model based on the long-term drivers of growth — globalisation, urbanisation, ecology and new working environments.

DekaBank is the securities services provider of the German Savings Banks Finance Group (Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe). Together with its subsidiaries it forms Deka Group. With total customer assets of more than EUR 395 billion (as at 31/12/2021) and more than 5.2 million securities accounts, DekaBank is one of the largest securities services providers and real estate asset managers in Germany. DekaBank is a wholly owned subsidiary of the German Sparkasse savings banks and forms an integral part of the Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe.

The Deka Group’s global real estate expertise is pooled in its Real Estate Division. The management companies, Deka Immobilien Investment GmbH and WestInvest Gesellschaft für Investmentfonds mbH provide management and support for around EUR 47 billion in real estate assets (as at 31/12/2021).