Chicago Office Finally Thawed In 2025. Here Are The Deals That Prove It

Chicago office market activity in 2025 finally thawed from its glacial pace over the past two years, though buildings still sold at significant discounts and leasing activity remained muted. 

The city’s top buildings continued to experience leasing trends different from those in the broader market.

Transwestern's Chicago Office Market Index, which tracks the last 20 Class-A office buildings greater than 300K SF constructed in the central business district, reported a direct vacancy rate of 8% at the close of the third quarter. That is substantially lower than the 22.6% direct vacancy rate of the broader CBD.

Here are the top office deals in the Chicago area this year, with data courtesy of Colliers. Sales are ranked by total sales prices, and leases are ordered by square footage. 

Top CBD Office Sales

Property: 600 West Chicago

• Price: $88.6M
• Quarter Sold: Q1
• Buyer: 3Edgewood
• Seller: JPMorgan Asset Management, Sterling Bay
• Size: 1.6M SF
• Location: 600 W. Chicago Ave.

Groupon’s former headquarters building along the Chicago River sold to 3Edgewood in January, the largest downtown office sale by square footage to close in almost three years. The property traded at a steep discount from the $510M the former owner, Sterling Bay, paid for it in 2018.

Property: 190 South LaSalle

• Price: $55M
• Quarter Sold: Q4 
• Buyer: Namdar Realty Group, Mason Asset Management
• Seller: Beacon Capital Partners
• Size: 800K SF
• Location: 190 S. LaSalle St. 

The pair of New York-based investors scooped up the office tower in October at a substantial discount to the value of the $167.5M loan that lenders, including U.S. Bank, provided to Beacon Capital Partners in February 2020. The firms often purchase shopping malls and other retail properties to bring them out of financial trouble, but they have increasingly targeted large office towers.

Property: 125 South Wacker

• Price: $51.5M
• Quarter Sold: Q4
• Buyer: Menashe Properties
• Seller: La Caisse
• Size: 640K SF
• Location: 125 S. Wacker Drive

Menashe Properties scooped up 125 South Wacker, a 31-story Class-A office tower in the West Loop, in November — its second Chicago office buy in as many years. CEO Jordan Menashe told Bisnow at the time that he sees the market improving, as well as an opportunity to capture market share with an aggressive focus on spec suites. 

Top Suburban Office Sales

Property: O'Hare International Center

• Price: Acquired a $47.5M mortgage backed by the property
• Quarter Sold: Q3
• Buyer: Dry Creek Capital Partners
• Seller: Bridge Investment Group
• Size: 551K SF
• Location: 10255 and 10275 Higgins Road in Rosemont

Dry Creek bought the debt from a Regions Bank venture in August after Bridge Investment Group defaulted on its loan by failing to pay the mortgage upon maturity. The price paid for the note wasn’t confirmed but was likely below the property’s loan balance. 

Property: Bannockburn Lakes

• Price: $17M 
• Quarter Sold: Q3
• Buyer: IAG Holdings
• Seller: Walton Street Capital, Glenstar
• Size: 547K SF
• Location: 2201 Waukegan Road in Bannockburn

A venture led by investor Anthony Donato purchased the five-building office complex with the intention of spending more than $25M to turn a portion of it into a youth sports facility. Donato plans to start the process by converting one floor at 2201 Waukegan Road into an indoor training facility for local travel soccer club Pegasus FC and other youth sports programs. 

Property: Oak Brook Office Center

• Price: $8.9M 
• Quarter Sold: Q2
• Buyer: GTZ Properties
• Seller: Varde Partners
• Size: 327K SF
• Location: 2707 Butterfield Road in Oak Brook

GTZ acquired the property in a distressed-asset sale with redevelopment in mind. The new investor plans to reinvest in two of the four properties as improved offices and reinvent the remaining 12 acres into a mixed-use development with retail, recreation and entertainment uses.

Top CBD Office Leases

Property: CME Center

• Tenant: BP
• Quarter Signed: Q1
• Size: 240K SF
• Deal Type: Extension
• Location: 10 and 30 S. Wacker Drive

BP inked a deal to stay in its space along the Chicago River through at least 2032, committing to remain on the seventh through 10th floors of all three buildings. The gas and oil juggernaut has called the building home since 2009. 

Property: Citadel Center

• Tenant: Bain & Co.
• Quarter Signed: Q3
• Size: 173K SF
• Deal Type: Relocation and expansion
• Location: 131 S. Dearborn St.

Consulting firm Bain & Co. signed an agreement to take over the top five floors of Citadel’s longtime office tower in the Loop. Citadel finalized plans to vacate its namesake tower in December. 

Property: 550 W. Adams St.

• Tenant: USG Corp. 
• Quarter Signed: Q4
• Size: 165K SF
• Deal Type: Renewal and consolidation
• Location: 550 W. Adams St.

As part of a downsizing effort, USG reduced the size of its headquarters in the West Loop by 25%. The company’s 165K SF lease is down from the 221K SF it leased previously. USG’s previous lease wasn’t set to expire until 2031, and it is unclear how long its renewal will last. 

Top Suburban Office Leases

Property: Fortune Brands Innovations

• Tenant: Fortune Brands
• Quarter Signed: Q1 
• Size: 372K SF
• Deal Type: New lease
• Location: 1 Horizon Way in Deerfield

Fortune Brands made a major office move in January, relocating its former Deerfield headquarters to two large towers at 1 Horizon Way in the same suburb. The company has added more than 400 new hires in the 10 months since and moved into its new headquarters in the fall. 

Property: 1299 Zurich Way

• Tenant: ADP
• Quarter Signed: Q1
• Size: 150K SF
• Deal Type: New lease
• Location: 1299 Zurich Way in Schaumburg

The payroll services company officially signed the year’s second-largest suburban lease after reportedly eyeing the property last summer. The office building was completed in 2016, one of the newest office properties in the Chicago suburbs. 

Property: 510 Lake Cook Road

• Tenant: Vantive
• Quarter Signed: Q1 
• Size: 120K SF
• Deal Type: New lease
• Location: 510 Lake Cook Road in Deerfield

Vantive, a kidney care company that is an offshoot of Baxter International, announced it would invest $23M in its new U.S. headquarters in suburban Deerfield. Its new headquarters was formerly home to construction equipment giant Caterpillar, which left for Texas in 2022.