Trump Organization Taps New Brokers To Lease Retail Space Vacant For 16 Years
President Donald Trump’s real estate firm has enlisted a new team of brokers to lease up retail space at the base of Trump International Hotel & Tower that has gathered dust since the building's opening in 2009.
The Trump Organization tapped a team of Newmark brokers to search for tenants for the 70K SF retail space on the Riverwalk and mezzanine levels of the building, CoStar reported. The space at 401 N. Wabash Ave. has never been leased despite its riverfront location and proximity to the Mag Mile.
The Newmark leasing team includes James Schutter, Larry Kling, Jason Pruger, Jason Stein, Tim Newman and Simon Carson, according to the outlet. Brokers from RKF, A-R-C Real Estate Group and Cushman & Wakefield oversaw previously unsuccessful leasing efforts.
The space itself lacks street frontage and has a curved shape with relatively low height, Cresa retail broker Leslie Karr told CoStar. Karr said the building's design was flawed "from the get-go" with its irregular shape.
The tower also has to compete for tenants in an environment rife with vacant retail options throughout the Loop. In 2024, the retail vacancy rate in the Loop area sat at 29.8%, according to Stone Real Estate.
The same property caught heat last year after reporting found Trump might have claimed improper tax breaks on the skyscraper that could lead to a tax bill of more than $100M if he loses an IRS audit. Since the audit began prior to Trump's presidency, the action's current status is unclear. Trump's tallest and most recent construction project lost money through a coupling of cost overruns and opening during the Global Financial Crisis.
But as Trump angled for tax benefits on the losses he incurred from the 92-story tower, the IRS argued he essentially wrote off the same losses twice.
Trump claimed his first tax write-off on the condo-hotel building in 2008, asserting that his investment in the property met the tax code definition of “worthless” because his project debt meant he would never see a profit on the tower. He reported losses as high as $651M for the year, and the IRS didn't appear to challenge that initial claim.
