SEOUL, South Korea--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Downtown Properties, the US associate of Hong Kong based Gaw Capital Partners, along with a South Korean consortium have successfully acquired a trophy Class A office building in downtown Chicago from Hines.
Three First National Plaza is currently 92% leased and boasts an impressive roster of tenants including Morgan Stanley, Fitch Ratings and K&L Gates. The 1.4 million-square-foot sawtooth tower features a nine-story glass atrium which houses a Henry Moore sculpture, Large Internal/External Form. The acquisition of 57-story Three First National Plaza located at 70 W. Madison St in Chicago’s CBD Central Loop, is the second sizable core property transaction in the US led and managed by Downtown Properties in the past two years on behalf of Korean institutional investors.
Downtown Properties is not only co-investor but also advisor on the acquisition. In South Korea, Hyundai Asset Management is acting as asset manager. The Korean investors are also part of the group of investors who along with Downtown Properties, successfully acquired 333 Market Street in San Francisco last year. Wells Fargo Securities Asia acted as buy-side advisor, Eastdil Secured arranged the acquisition financing and was the advisor to Hines.
Managing Principal for Gaw Capital Partners and Downtown Properties Goodwin Gaw said “The current US real estate cycle provides an opportune time for risk averse Asian institutional investors to enter the US market. We completed our San Francisco investment last spring, before the recent flood of capital into the core/core-plus asset category. We feel the strong and stable cash flow combined with the large diverse tenant base of Three First National Plaza will prove to be another attractive investment for us and our investors.”
“Our expertise, experience and understanding of both Asian and overseas property markets is clearly a key competitive advantage. Our integrated operating platforms and extensive network of affiliations are well equipped to seize any opportunities in this dynamic market.”
About Gaw Capital Partners
Gaw Capital is a private equity fund management company, co-founded by brothers Goodwin and Kenneth Gaw in 2005, subsequently joined by Humbert Pang and Christina Gaw, specialising in adding strategic value to under-utilised real estate through redesigning and repositioning.
Gaw Capital runs an integrated business model with its own in-house asset management operating platforms in retail, hospitality and property development.
Currently, Gaw Capital manages three funds: Gateway China Fund I, Gateway Capital Real Estate Fund II and Gateway Real Estate Fund III, with combined total equity commitments exceeding US$1.5 billion.
About Downtown Properties
Downtown Properties Holdings has been acquiring and managing real estate investments in the United States since 1991.
The U.S. portfolio, which includes assets in Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Hawaii and other states, comprises over 4 million sq ft of office buildings, hotels with over 1,000 rooms, two 18-hole championship golf courses, a ski resort and three residential redevelopment projects.
Downtown Properties won international acclaim for its restoration and repositioning of the iconic Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, which is now one of the most successful hotels in Los Angeles, and has been involved in the revitalisation and transformation of a series of historically significant buildings dating back to the late 19th and early 20th centuries in downtown Los Angeles.
Downtown Properties also provides services in acquisition, asset management, fund management and property management for strategic partners and investors.
http://www.downtown-properties.com