Part Of Former John Hancock Center Could Become Hotel: The Chicago Deal Sheet
Marriott International is in discussions to bring a luxury hotel to the former John Hancock Center, one of the city's most iconic towers.
Chicago-based real estate firm Hearn is in the process of working out a deal with Marriott to bring a 350-room hotel to the 100-story tower at 875 N. Michigan Ave., Crain's Chicago Business first reported. The hotel would take up about 400K SF of largely empty office space on the 23rd through 34th floors.
Hearn has owned the office portion of the building since 2013 and has marketed some of the empty space to medical office users in the past few years.
Across the street, MetLife Investment Management is investing more than $170M in the redevelopment of Water Tower Place to consolidate the building's retail footprint.
PEOPLE
Lee & Associates made two promotions, elevating Tony Russo to executive vice president from senior vice president and Matthew Androwich to vice president from senior associate.
SALES
Investcorp acquired a portfolio of roughly 19 properties across Chicago, Indianapolis, Cincinnati and Dallas-Fort Worth for about $200M. The roughly 1.4M SF portfolio includes four properties spanning about 286K SF in Chicago. The portfolio is about 97% occupied and leased to tenants across a range of industries, including light manufacturing, industrial services, logistics, wholesale distribution and consumer-related businesses.
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Ashland Capital purchased The Manors at Brookmere, a 108-home build-to-rent community at 4962 Bennett Drive in Matteson, for $26.4M from Haven Realty Capital. Lennar initially developed the community in 2016, and the community was stabilized at the time of sale. Cushman & Wakefield’s Brad Smith, Jack Maloney and Anna Lovell represented the seller.
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WSI Machinery bought a 28K SF industrial building at 280-290 Industrial Drive in Wauconda. The company plans to renovate the office and warehouse spaces to support the company’s operational expansion. Entre Commercial Realty's Elisabeth Lazzara, Mike DeSerto and Cory Kay represented WSI, while Premier Commercial Realty's Bruce Kaplan represented the seller.
LEASES
Vedder signed a 12-year lease extension with Tishman Speyer to stay at 222 N. LaSalle St. The law firm has had its headquarters at the building since 1988 and will continue to take up 163K SF across five floors. Tishman Speyer was represented by Ellen May, Steve Golz and Bella Rapken, while Savills' Joe Learner and Adam Southard represented Vedder.
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Akira completed a long-term warehouse lease extension for 202K SF at 150 E. Crossroads Parkway in Bolingbrook. Akira will use the extension to maintain and expand its distribution operations in the I-55 corridor at the Prologis-owned property. NAI Hiffman's Dan Leahy and Dan O’Neill represented Akira in the deal.
CONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT
Backbeat Hotel unveiled its first renderings of the 50-room independent boutique hotel planned for Northalsted. The 41K SF property will be built on the site of the former Yoshi’s Café. Demolition of the existing structure is slated for later this year, with an anticipated opening in 2028.
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Skender Construction broke ground on Mt. Pisgah Apartments, a new mixed-use affordable housing development in Evanston. The development, led by Housing Opportunity Development Corp. in partnership with Skender, Mt. Pisgah Ministries and the city of Evanston, will convert the church site at 1813 Church St. into a mixed-use community. It will have 33 units and ground-floor commercial space.
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Joseph Nicholas Construction, in partnership with Jack Carter Auto Group, broke ground on Carter Cadillac of Chicago, a new dealership at 1400 W. North Ave. The new facility will be the brand’s third flagship store worldwide. Carter Cadillac of Chicago is expected to open in late 2027.
THIS AND THAT
The 38th edition of the Chicago Commercial Real Estate Awards raised $1.1M for the Greater Chicago Food Depository. More than 800 Chicago CRE professionals met for the event at The Old Post Office on Thursday.
