Crain's: Fulton Market landlord defies office market struggle with big refi
01 July 2025
The developers of Fulton Market's largest office building have taken out a massive loan to pay off their previous mortgage, a rare feat at a bad time for the business of owning workspace and a show of strength for the trendy former meatpacking neighborhood.
A joint venture of Chicago-based Shapack Partners, Focus and Walton Street Capital is set to close this month on a new $247 million loan backed by the 17-story office building at 167 N. Green St., according to a presale report on the debt offering from ratings agency KBRA. The new mortgage will be used to pay off a $232 million balance on a loan the trio took out from Deutsche Bank in 2021 to refinance the property, which was completed in late 2020.
The pending refinancing stands out at a time when many office landlords are unable to retire maturing debt, stymied by a combination of remote work weakening office demand and elevated interest rates. That one-two punch has decimated office property values and spurred a historic wave of foreclosures and other distress that continue to hamper downtown's recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Newer buildings with little vacancy like 167 N. Green, however, are outperforming the broader market and making lenders more comfortable with backing them. The 638,794-square-foot property has 18 tenants and is nearly 92% leased today — far higher than the 73% average for downtown office buildings — and was recently appraised at $370 million, or $570 per square foot, according to the KBRA report.
This article appeared in Crain's Chicago Business, read the full story here.