McKinney replacing Jones Lang at B of A Building
(Crain's) — The new owner of the Bank of America Building has hired real estate brokerage J. F. McKinney & Associates Ltd. to take over leasing of the historic LaSalle Street structure, replacing Jones Lang LaSalle Inc., which has managed the property since 2004.
The switch is an apparent attempt by Gramercy Capital Corp. to revitalize the B of A Building, 231 S. LaSalle St., where the vacancy rate has remained above 18% since second-quarter 2007, according to real estate research firm CoStar Group Inc. New York-based Gramercy owns the nearly 940,000-square-foot building as a result of its $3.3-billion acquisition in April of American Financial Realty Trust.
Charlotte, N.C.-based B of A is the largest tenant in the building, with 710,400 square feet, CoStar says.
Sources say Chicago-based Jones Lang has already been notified of the change. An investor relations executive with Gramercy did not return a call requesting comment. Representatives of McKinney and Jones Lang LaSalle declined to comment.
Built in 1924, the 20-story structure is an iconic bank building, with classic exterior columns and a majestic banking hall on the second floor. But the building's antiquated design is unappealing to many large corporations, which typically prefer rectangular floors.
Chicago-based Jones Lang has handled both leasing and management of 231 S. LaSalle since late 2004, when B of A sold the 20-story building to Jenkintown, Pa.-based American Financial Realty as part of a sale/leaseback of a 7.3-million-square-foot nationwide portfolio of properties.
Chicago-based McKinney specializes in representing landlords in leasing, but doesn't manage properties. The shift to McKinney likely is part of a move by Gramercy to take management of the former American Financial portfolio in-house, sources say.
