Prudential Buys VideoJet Building From Wells

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WOOD DALE, IL-Prudential Real Estate Investors, based in Parsippany, NJ, has purchased the VideoJet Technologies headquarters building from Wells Real Estate Investment Trust Inc., based in Norcross, GA. Terms for the sale of the 250,000-sf flex building at 1500 Mittel Blvd. were not disclosed.

Prudential purchased the property on the behalf of a single client, says Sharon Ward, vice president for dispositions for Wells. Prudential did not respond to a request to be interviewed. Prudential vice president Collete English Dixon represented the company in the transaction. Paul Lundstedt and John Gavin, both with Cushman & Wakefield, assisted Wells in the sale.

Wells purchased the property in 1999 for approximately $32 million, says Robert Byrd, vice president of corporate communications for Wells. VideoJet, a manufacturer of coding, printing and laser marking products, fully occupies the building. Last year, VideoJet, a subsidiary of Danaher Corp., extended its lease by 10 years for its headquarters. The company had five years left on its lease.

Lease rates for VideoJet were not disclosed and, because the building is not purely office space or industrial space, Ward said an average lease rate for the area could not be determined. In November, Bo Reddic, managing director of asset management for Wells, said the lease rate is close to the comparables for the O’Hare market, which he says averages in the mid-teens triple net for the office market and $3 to $4 per sf, triple net for industrial property.

Ward tells GlobeSt.com that Wells decided to sell the property, in part, because VideoJet renewed its lease until 2021. “The tenant renewed in the fall and it was a 15-year lease so, usually, we will try to take advantage of a new lease and market the building,” Ward says. “This is obviously in the suburbs of Chicago and the market is still attractive. The building has appreciated in value so we wanted to take it to market.”