Behringer Harvard to buy 4 downtown Chicago towers.

Behringer Harvard announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to purchase entities owning a portfolio of four Class A office properties from affiliates of Boston-based Beacon Capital Partners.

The portfolio, under contract by Behringer Harvard REIT I, Inc., consists of four prominent office towers in the central business district of Chicago, Illinois: One Financial Place, in the city's Central Loop submarket, 10 South Riverside Plaza, 120 South Riverside Plaza, and 200 South Wacker Drive in the West Loop. The deal represents approximately 3.2 million square feet of rentable office space and would increase the REIT's Chicago holdings to 4.4 million square feet.

"This is an extremely attractive portfolio due to the exceptional quality of the properties and the strength of the submarkets where these assets are located," said Robert M. Behringer, founder and CEO of Behringer Harvard.

"With our previous acquisition of 222 South Riverside, we will have achieved a critical mass of Class A central business district properties in Chicago that will give us excellent leasing and management synergies and value creation opportunities. Additionally, with this acquisition our flagship core office REIT will have a significant presence with over 4 million square feet of attractively located properties in one of the nation's most industry diverse and strengthening office markets."

One Financial Place is a trophy office property that offers approximately 1 million square feet of rentable space in a 39-story tower. The southern anchor of Chicago's largest financial exchange complex, One Financial Place connects to the Chicago Board of Options Exchange (CBOE), which in turn is connected to the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT).

The 10 & 120 South Riverside Plaza complex is comprised of twin, 21-story high-rise office buildings. The approximate 1.39 million square feet of office and retail space is located immediately north of another Behringer Harvard REIT I asset, 222 South Riverside Plaza, the owner of which was purchased from another Beacon affiliate in 2006.

200 South Wacker Drive is a premier 40-story office tower with approximately 750,000 s/f of rentable space.

The buildings include such well known and highly creditworthy tenants as Goldman Sachs, Chicago Stock Exchange, Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch, CDW Corporation and the University of Illinois.