EQ Office
 | |
| Formerly | Equity Office |
|---|---|
| Company type | Privately-held |
| Founded | 1976 (as Equity Office Properties) |
| Founder | Sam Zell |
| Headquarters | Chicago, Illinois |
Key people | Alex Vouvalides,[1] CEO |
| Website | www |
EQ Office is a real estate investment company that owns 80 office properties comprising 40 million square feet. The company is owned by funds managed by The Blackstone Group. The company was formerly known as Equity Office.
History
[edit]The company was founded in 1976 by Sam Zell.[2] In 1997, the company acquired Lakeside Square in North Dallas for $60 million.[3] In 2003, the company gained control of the San Francisco Ferry Building.[4]
In 2005, the company sold 5 buildings in San Francisco for $400 million.[5] The company also acquired a portfolio in California for $263 million.[citation needed] In 2006, the company acquired Pointe O'Hare I, an office building near O'Hare International Airport for $59 million[6] and a property in Boca Raton, Florida for $29.5 million.[7] The company also acquired half-interest in two Miami office buildings for $249.8 million.[8]
In February 2007, after a bidding war with Vornado Realty Trust, funds managed by The Blackstone Group completed the acquisition of the company for $39 billion and sold 8 buildings to affiliates of Harry Macklowe for $7 billion.[9] In April 2007, the company sold its portfolio in Washington, D.C. to Beacon Capital Partners for $6.5 billion.[10] Later in 2013, the company acquired the Hughes Center, an office and retail development in Las Vegas, for $347 million.[11]
In January 2014, the company sold 1-3 Center Plaza in Boston to Shorenstein Properties for $307 million.[12] In April 2014, the company sold 28 State Street for $345 million.[13] In December 2014, the company sold its portfolio in Silicon Valley to Hudson Pacific Properties for $3.5 billion.[14] In 2015, the company acquired the Willis Tower for $1.3 billion.[15]
In 2017, the company sold a property in San Jose, California for $82 million.[16] The company also sold a two-building medical office campus in San Diego, California for $97 million.[17] In June 2018, the company changed its name from Equity Office to EQ Office.[18] In 2019, the company purchased Seattle office buildings U.S. Bank Center and Docusign Tower for $1.2 billion.[19]
In December 2024, EQ Office merged with ShopCore Properties, another Blackstone-owned real estate company specializing in retail properties. This merger created a diversified real estate operating platform focused on both retail and office assets. As part of this consolidation, Alex Vouvalides, who was already serving as CEO of EQ Office, assumed leadership of the combined entity. The merger aimed to leverage shared talent, local market insights, operating expertise, and cost efficiencies across the two companies. Prior to the merger, ShopCore managed over 65 shopping centers totaling approximately 14 million square feet across 15 states, while EQ Office operated more than 20 million square feet of office space in major U.S. markets.
Investments
[edit]Notable properties owned by the company are as follows:
- 100 Summer Street
- 1740 Broadway
- 350 North Orleans
- Docusign Tower
- San Francisco Ferry Building
- U.S. Bank Center (Seattle)
- Wells Fargo Center (Minneapolis)
- Willis Tower
References
[edit]- ^ "EQ Office Appoints Alex Vouvalides as Chief Executive Officer".
- ^ Jonas, Ilaina (January 19, 2007). "Blackstone to buy Equity Office". Reuters.
- ^ Garrison, Trey (October 26, 1997). "Equity Office set to close on Lakeside Square deal". American City Business Journals.
- ^ Ginsberg, Steve (January 12, 2003). "Divorce sends Ferry Building to Equity Office". American City Business Journals.
- ^ Wilson, Lizette (April 13, 2005). "Hines buys Equity Office' portfolio for $400M". American City Business Journals.
- ^ CORFMAN, THOMAS A. (February 22, 2006). "Equity Office buys Pointe O'Hare I building". Chicago Tribune.
- ^ Lunsford, Darcie (May 31, 2006). "Equity Office buys in Boca Raton, more may come". American City Business Journals.
- ^ "Equity Office buys parts of Miami office towers". American City Business Journals. October 5, 2006.
- ^ Pristin, Terry (February 10, 2007). "After Acquiring Equity Office, Blackstone Begins Selling It". The New York Times.
- ^ Natarajan, Prabha (April 11, 2007). "Blackstone completes sale of Equity Office's D.C. portfolio". American City Business Journals.
- ^ "Blackstone's Equity Office buys Hughes Center in Las Vegas". Reuters. September 23, 2013.
- ^ Grillo, Thomas (January 9, 2014). "Blackstone's Equity Office sells 1-3 Center Plaza for $307 million". American City Business Journals.
- ^ Grillo, Thomas (April 2, 2014). "Blackstone's Equity Office unloads 28 State St. for $345M". American City Business Journals.
- ^ Donato-Weinstein, Nathan (December 7, 2014). "Blackstone to sell Equity Office Silicon Valley portfolio to Hudson Pacific for $3.5 billion". American City Business Journals.
- ^ Harris, Melissa (March 16, 2015). "Willis Tower to be sold for $1.3 billion to Blackstone Group". Chicago Tribune.
- ^ Bitters, Janice (May 19, 2017). "North San Jose office with long-term tech tenant sells for $82M". American City Business Journals.
- ^ Hirsh, Lou (September 10, 2017). "UTC Medical Office Campus Sold for $97M". American City Business Journals.
- ^ Lash, Herbert (June 20, 2018). "Equity Office embraces flexible workspace, adopts EQ Office name". Reuters.
- ^ Miller, Brian (July 1, 2019). "EQ Office buys 2 downtown Seattle high-rises for $1.2B". Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce. Retrieved September 1, 2023.