Amerimar Enterprises has announced the acquisition of 717 South Wells Street, a 100,000-sq-ft, fiber-rich building located in Chicago. Amerimar Enterprises is once again partnering with telecom industry veteran Hunter Newby to own and operate the property.

717 South Wells (originally constructed in 1923) was strategically redeveloped from a manufacturing facility to a telecom carrier hotel by the prior owner in the late 1990s. "With over a dozen networks, 717 South Wells has a solid foundation of carrier customers,” states Joshua Maes, vice president of Amerimar, “and we look forward to growing the network roster at the property.” Amerimar intends to undertake immediate redevelopment work at the property, including construction of a new “Meet Me Room” to draw additional network operators to the building. The first phase of Amerimar’s owner-operated, carrier-neutral “Meet Me Room” is scheduled to open in early 2015, affording new and existing customers the opportunity to interconnect with one another reliably and cost effectively.

The 10-story, 100,000-sq-ft property is one of the most fiber-dense, network-neutral facilities in Chicago. The building serves as a major hub for data and Internet traffic and provides reliable network interconnection infrastructure for carriers, service providers, and enterprise customers. The building’s location is of particular interest to telecom businesses, as it is a gateway to the local fiber backbone in Chicago as well as a primary access point for long-haul fiber in the region. The building also provides highly reliable data center operations with its robust floor loads, power and HVAC infrastructure.

"717 South Wells Street is an excellent addition to our growing carrier hotel platform,” adds Newby. “Chicago is not only a major junction point for the north-south and east-west domestic fiber routes in the Midwest, but it is also a nexus for multiple international networks, making it a global gateway and therefore strategic for us and our customers."

Ropes & Gray LLP, with a team led by partner Walter R. McCabe III, represented the buyer on the acquisition. Five 9’s Digital and Romans Properties brokered the transaction.