The iconic IDS Center in downtown Minneapolis is close to finding a buyer. Sources say that IDS owner, Inland American Real Estate Trust of Oak Brook, Ill. is expected to sign a purchase agreement to sell the office tower to Beacon Investment Properties. A sale is contingent upon months of due diligence. Neither party would talk about the negotiations, but sources close to the situation say that it would be several months before a transaction would close.
This would be the second buyer to emerge recently for IDS, a defining visual and cultural element on the Twin Cities landscape. Late last year, Inland began marketing the tower and was apparently in negotiations with Winnipeg-based Artis Real Estate Investment Trust. But Artis announced in early December that it was not pursuing a purchase. Reports estimated that Artis was negotiating to buy the tower for about $260 million.
Inland bought the building in 2006 for $278 million, but local real estate experts expect the 40-year-old property to fetch less than that. If it closes, the deal would join several recent transactions involving high-profile downtown buildings.
Late last month the Star Tribune reported that KBS Real Estate Investment Trust, a national real estate investment trust, will pay $126.5 million for RBC Plaza at 60 S. 6th St. in downtown Minneapolis. And in November the former Multifoods Tower at 33 S. Sixth St. sold for $205.5 million to San Francisco-based Shorenstein Properties LLC. Brokers say that there's strong interest in well-situated, high-profile commercial properties in Minneapolis among national companies seeking to take advantage of the region's strong economy and moderate prices. Other deals are expected to come together during the next several months.
