Iconic Chicago Riverfront Office Tower Sells for $320M

By Scott Baltic, Contributing Editor

It’s the distinctive green-glass-and-steel office tower with the curved front, sited right where the Main Stem, North Branch and South Branch of the Chicago River meet, and it just changed hands.

The 36-story office building at 333 W. Wacker Drive in the city’s West Loop was purchased for $320.5 million by PNC Realty Investors, as an advisor to the AFL-CIO Building Investment Trust, it was announced Tuesday by JLL Capital Markets, which secured $156 million in acquisition financing from Allianz on behalf of the new buyers. JLL also represented the seller, Hines Interests L.P.

The building was designed by Kohn Pederson Fox and offers easy access to public transportation, a variety of amenities and, understandably, exceptional views of the Chicago River and the surrounding area, including the Merchandise Mart. Its current occupancy is 93 percent, a JLL spokesperson told Commercial Property Executive.

International director Bruce Miller and senior VP Nooshin Felsenthal led the JLL sales team, and managing directors Keith Largay and David Hendrickson and senior VP Brian Walsh led the financing.

“This trophy asset at the intersection of the West Loop and River North, the city’s top-performing submarkets, offers investors an entry into the booming Chicago office market,” Felsenthal said in a prepared statement. “Adjacent financial, creative, technology, entertainment and residential districts continue to drive leasing velocity and rental rates, offering tremendous upside at this iconic property.”

The location does seem to be a solid one, according to a second-quarter Chicago office report from Marcus & Millichap, which takes note of two new buildings due to be opened in the West Loop next year. River Point, at 444 W. Lake St. (right across the river from 333 W. Wacker) and 150 North Riverside are each more than 1 million square feet, and each reportedly is more than 50 percent pre-leased.