Kendall College Planning Sale Leaseback of Chicago Campus

Crain's Chicago Business - October 9, 2007

Kendall College is putting up for sale its newly renovated campus on Goose Island, which it will lease back from the new buyer.

Kendall has occupied the 178,000-square-foot building at Halsted Street and Chicago Avenue since January 2005, when the college moved from Evanston after buying the property. The building will go on the market unpriced, Kendall says in a statement.

“We are conducting a sale/leaseback of the property as a function of our commitment to our mission,” Nivine Megahed, Kendall’s president, says in the statement. “We want to focus our energies on providing students with the finest education possible and will be utilizing our capital for growth of programs and students — not on real estate.” Kendall has hired CB Richard Ellis Inc. to market the property at 900 N. North Branch St. CB Richard Ellis’ Michael Caprile, a vice-chairman, is the listing broker.

The school, a private college that offers degrees in business, hospitality management, culinary arts and early childhood education, uses all but 15,000 square feet of the building that it leases out to several tenants. Kendall plans to lease the entire building from the new buyer and sublease to existing tenants. Sphere: Related Content