Balfour Pacific and Hamilton Partners Acquire 500 Park and OPP

A partnership between Balfour Pacific Real Estate Fund IV, a private equity real estate fund of Balfour Pacific Capital Inc., and Hamilton Partners has acquired two buildings in the Hamilton Lakes Business Park. 500 Park and One Pierce Place in Itasca, IL are nearly 1 million SF and are both over 90% leased. Balfour plans to renovate the buildings and offer a best in class amenity package, including a conference center, WiFi Lounge, common area upgrades, and unique spec suites. This is in addition to the upgraded 33,000 SF state of the art Hamilton Lakes Fitness Center, which is on the lower level of 500 Park.

“Balfour is very pleased with the acquisition and the partnership with Hamilton Partners,” said Mark Scott, Managing Partner at Balfour Pacific Capital. “We are thrilled with the opportunity to acquire these high quality, well leased assets at an attractive price and look forward to implementing our upgrade and modernization plan to make the buildings the best in the Itasca market.”

Hamilton Lakes Business Park is the flagship development and home of Hamilton Partners. The Park first took shape in the early 1980’s with the development of The Hamilton Hotel (now The Westin Chicago NorthWest) and 500 Park Boulevard. The Westin was renovated earlier this year with $14 million in improvements to the Westin’s gift shop, restaurants, lobby, lounge, registration, meeting rooms, as well as 12 different types of guestrooms.

“We are very excited about the partnership with Balfour Pacific and the opportunity to continue to lease and manage these two buildings,” said Patrick McKillen, Partner at Hamilton Partners. “We originally developed 500 Park and One Pierce Place and they have been a part of the Hamilton Partners family for many years. We have had long standing relationships with many of the tenants.”

This purchase comes just two weeks after the $780 million Elgin O’Hare Western Access Project was completed. Illinois Route 390, previously known as the Elgin–O’Hare Expressway, is 10 miles long and runs from Lake Street to Illinois Route 83. The completion paves the way for a new connection to O’Hare, which will allow for western access to the airport. Illinois Route 390 will give Hamilton Lakes’ tenants quick access to all over the Chicagoland area and, eventually, O’Hare Airport.

The activity outside and inside Hamilton Lakes Business Park continues to move as the American Academy of Pediatrics’ new 183,000 SF headquarters is almost completed at 345 Park Boulevard in Hamilton Lakes, having bought 11.2 acres from Hamilton Partners last year. In addition to AAP’s new building, Hamilton Partners sold 18.9 acres on the east end of Hamilton Lakes Business Park this October to a data center.

About Balfour Pacific Capital Inc.:
Balfour Pacific Capital Inc. is a Vancouver-based private equity real estate firm focused on value-added investments in the United States. Balfour is currently investing its fourth fund on behalf of institutions and high net worth investors. Balfour targets underpriced and out-of-favor assets in secondary or challenged real estate markets in the United States. Additional information can be found on our website: www.balfourpacific.com.

About HP:
Hamilton Partners, Inc. is one of the Midwest’s leading privately held commercial development companies. The company is headquartered in Itasca, Illinois and has regional offices in Buffalo Grove, Illinois and Downers Grove, Illinois and Salt Lake City, Utah. Hamilton Partners has full service management offices in 15 additional locations throughout the Chicago area. For more information visit www.hamiltonpartners.com