Another day, another major skyscraper coming up for sale, as Bloomberg reports that Seattle’s Columbia Center may be going on the block. This news and the Willis Tower coming up for sale made us wonder what other buildings around the country would get the same amount of interest (reportedly, the Blackstone Group jumped into negotiations for the Willis Tower mere days after it went on the market, in spite of a $1.5 billion price tag). After all, for some properties, the attraction goes beyond prime location or a stellar tenant base. Due to their architectural or historical significance, owning such buildings is gratifying to the ego—they are the real estate equivalent of a trophy wife. “In a superficial American world, we like pretty,” says Russell L. Ingrum, vice chairman with the investment properties—institutional group at commercial real estate services firm CBRE.
We asked Ingrum, along with capital markets experts from Colliers International and other industry insiders, such as Andrea Olshan, CEO of Olshan Properties, a privately-owned investment, development and management firm, and Constantine Korologos, managing director with Situs RERC, what office buildings may incite a bidding frenzy if they were to hit the market. Take a look at their picks below and remember—this is not a definitive list. If you can think of another asset that would fit the profile, let us know and we’ll add it.
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Of course, the chances of these buildings actually coming up for sale in today’s market are very small—if the owners were to sell, “what would they do with the money?” asks Ingrum.
