DRT Completes $140 million Deal for Lakeside

The El Paso Corporation today confirmed that it has sold the massive Lakeside Technology Center in Chicago to Digital Realty Trust for $140 million. The sale was expected, having been announced in March. But the completion of the deal is a milestone nonetheless, and allows energy-focused El Paso to close the books on a costly detour into the connectivity market.

El Paso bought the building from the Carlyle Group in 2001, near the top of the dot-com enthusiasm and accompanying runup in data center and carrier hotel development. While the 2001 sale price was never announced, it is reported to be well above the $140 million price paid by Digital Realty. The 1.09 million square foot Lakeside property is 72 percent leased overall, and 96 percent leased excluding 275,000 square feet of shell space awaiting development.