In one of Chicago's tightest office submarkets, Sterling Bay is quietly floating its freshly built tower at 345 N. Morgan to see who bites and at what price. The 11-story building, roughly 197,433 square feet, is about 94% leased with a weighted-average lease term nearing 11 years. Supply-chain firm HAVI occupies roughly half the space, giving the property a hefty anchor tenant. For buyers and brokers, it is a rare shot at pricing a high-quality, smaller-scale office asset in 2026's still-uneasy investment climate.
As reported by CoStar News, Sterling Bay has hired JLL to take the building to market. Offering materials peg the property at about 197,433 square feet and roughly 94% leased, with a weighted average lease term of almost 11 years. CoStar News also notes the project was financed with a construction loan from Bank OZK launched in 2021, and Cook County records show the loan has been amended several times, most recently in 2024 to extend the maturity into August. That financing backdrop is one big reason investors and lenders are watching this sale so closely.
Sterling Bay highlights hospitality-style perks meant to stand out in a choppy office market: private terraces on every floor, a conservatory bar and lounge, a 5,000-square-foot roof deck, and a full-service fitness center. The tenant roster includes Allsteel, Humanscale, Wellington Management, and HAVI. Sterling Bay pitches the building as a roughly 200,000-square-foot boutique office delivered in 2022, designed with flexible floorplates and arched windows for a hybrid workforce. Those design and amenity choices are central to the sales story for investors sizing up longer-term cash flow stability.
Skender, the general contractor, announced completion in October 2022 after an expedited 13-month build and said the project was roughly 85% pre-leased at delivery. Skender also noted it completed interior fit-outs for multiple HAVI floors, underscoring how quickly the property moved toward stabilization once construction wrapped. That fast timeline and early pre-leasing make this asset far more straightforward to underwrite than many older, partially empty office towers now drifting onto the market.
Why Investors Will Watch This Sale
The timing is not accidental. Chicago has only seen a handful of notable office trades lately that can serve as pricing guideposts, and CoStar News points to the recent purchase of 401 N. Michigan Ave. by Real Capital Solutions for roughly $131.5 million as the largest Chicago office sale since 2022. Compared with that riverfront heavyweight, 345 N. Morgan is a relatively compact deal with long leases and polished amenities, which is exactly why market watchers expect it to attract private buyers and opportunistic investors, not just the biggest institutions. Whatever pricing the bidding process reveals will offer a fresh read on whether values for top-tier, recently delivered office buildings in the Midwest are finally finding a floor.
What Buyers Will Consider
Prospective buyers will put the near-term financing schedule under the microscope, weighing it against the building's long lease duration and tenant mix. A weighted-average lease term near 11 years suggests stable cash flow, but the amended construction loan and its updated maturity calendar give both debt and equity investors room to negotiate structure. HAVI, the largest tenant, is a longtime supply-chain partner to McDonald's, which underscores the operational ties and credit relevance underpinning roughly half the rent roll. The broader neighborhood story does not hurt either: corporate anchors such as McDonald's global campus and Google's Midwest offices helped turn Fulton Market into one of Chicago's premier office districts, a shift documented by The Real Deal.
JLL's capital-markets team will run the marketing process, and the sale timetable and bidding format will likely dictate whether buyers opt to assume or restructure the existing debt or line up new financing altogether. For Chicago's office players, the outcome will be an early and closely watched test of how much investors are willing to pay for new-vintage office product in Fulton Market, and whether a strong result here can help nudge the city's broader office investment market toward a real recovery.
