Marketing Of Distressed Loop Building Will Test Waters For Downtown Office Properties
The pandemic era’s largest distressed building has hit the market in a move set to gauge buyer appetite for Loop office properties.
A court-appointed receiver for 175 West Jackson has put the 1.4M SF building up for sale, hiring JLL to market the property, Crain’s Chicago Business reports. The move comes a year after former owner Brookfield Asset Management relinquished the building to its lender when it became delinquent on a $258M loan backing the property.
The sale is an effort to fend off a protracted foreclosure process, per Crain’s, and will be closely watched as the downtown area reels from the fallout of remote work, spiking interest rates and office vacancy, which hit an all-time high of 22.6% in the second quarter, according to CBRE.
It also comes amid a wave of downtown buildings facing foreclosure, including the 45-story Civic Opera building; 401 South State St., whose owners are being sued by Deutsche Bank for defaulting on a $47.8M loan; and a 43-story office property at 30 North LaSalle St.
Brookfield bought 175 West Jackson in 2018 for $305M, according to Cook County property records. Once known as the Insurance Exchange Building, it was constructed in 1912 and designed by famed architect Daniel Burnham.
It is home to the regional headquarters of the Securities and Exchange Commission and several financial firms, but ownership struggled to fill its floors and service the debt. As of 2021, occupancy was 65%, Trepp reported. It has since fallen to 59%, well below the 77% average for downtown office buildings, per Crain’s.
The building was appraised at $210M in March 2022 but has since been valued at $170M, Crain’s reported, citing Real Estate Alert.
JLL will market the property by highlighting the opportunity to assume Brookfield's loan, the outlet reported. Special servicer LNR Partners is willing to modify the terms of the loan, which has a 5.1% fixed rate that could be attractive to buyers looking to avoid today’s rates.
