Business & Tech
Billionaire Koch Brothers Flip Real Estate in South Suburbs
Conservative icons earn 27 percent profit on industrial park deal in University Park.
The Koch brothers sold a 697,000-square-foot warehouse along Interstate 57 for $31.9 million — having paid $25 million for it in April 2012.
The south suburban property at 702 Commerce Center Drive in University Park is being leased by a Koch Industries subsidiary, Georgia-Pacific LLC, according to Crain's Chicago Business.
"In a little-noticed transaction," reports Crain's, "the company sold the building in March to a suburban Philadelphia real estate private-equity firm, property records show. ... The jump in price reflects surging investor demand for top-quality industrial real estate leased to creditworthy tenants."
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Georgia Pacific, a tissue and paper company, signed a six-year lease on the property, reported to be the biggest industrial lease in the Chicago area, just a few months before Koch Industries bought the building.
Each Koch brother, Charles and David, is worth $36 billion, according to Forbes. The Kochs are known for supporting ultra-conservative causes.
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Their one-year flip of the property netted a 27 percent profit, right in President Obama's back yard, a sign perhaps that the economy is recovering for some folks.
Read more at ChicagoBusiness.com: Koch Brothers Flip Industrial Building for Big Profit
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