Sterling Bay is singlehandedly sculpting Chicago's hottest new 'hood. Its greatest hits already include: Hillshire Brands' HQ at 400 S Jefferson St (above), which Sterling Bay redeveloped then sold to Cole for $97.5M; the acquisition and repositioning of 111 N Canal, where Gogo will lease 230k SF; and the acquisition and redevelopment of 1KFulton, with more than 380k SF already leased to tenants including Google.
The stars don't align to transform a new emerging submarket often, says COO George Kohl (center, with Lincoln Property's Robert Quast and Behringer Harvard's Michael Reilly). Sterling Bay's secret: seeing value in a way others haven't, creating a strong brand with the buildings they acquire, and renovating in a way that's in sync with what forward-thinking companies are looking for.
