The ground floor of historic Tribune Tower is for sale, providing investors with the rare opportunity to own a piece of one of Chicago’s most recognizable buildings at a time when the Magnificent Mile retail avenue tries to regain its footing.
Eastdil Secured brokers have been hired to sell the 47,000-square-foot ground floor of the 36-story, century-old former home of the Chicago Tribune at 435 N. Michigan Ave., according to marketing materials.
It is for sale as a retail-only property for the first time since the neo-Gothic tower was completed in 1925.
Brokers representing property owners CIM Group and Golub & Co. are billing it as a “generational opportunity” to own the property that includes 218 feet of Michigan Avenue frontage. The tower also is just across the Pioneer Court pedestrian plaza from an Apple flagship store along the Chicago River at the southern tip of the city’s best-known shopping corridor.
Chicago-based Golub and Los Angeles-based CIM bought Tribune Tower for $240 million in 2016 to convert most of the tower into residential condominiums. The separately owned condos are not part of the retail offering.
The newspaper moved out in 2018.
It’s unclear how much CIM and Golub are expecting in a sale of the retail portion of the tower.
The firms declined to comment to CoStar News.
Since the Tribune Tower redevelopment began, the Mag Mile has encountered challenges including COVID-19 and the defections of several large tenants, creating historically high vacancy.
In one recent setback, the Alaska Permanent Fund, a longtime investor in the Shops at North Bridge just a short walk north of Tribune Tower, voluntarily handed over ownership of the vertical mall to its lender.
Amid those North Michigan Avenue challenges, Tribune Tower’s retail is just 36% leased, according to Eastdil. Tenants are the Museum of Ice Cream experience, a Blue Bottle coffee shop, ear-piercing chain Rowan and luxury watchmaker A. Lange & Sohne.
A new owner of the space could look to build on recent leasing activity on the street, which includes deals for a Harry Potter-themed store from Warner Bros. and a huge store from Spanish clothing retailer Mango.
For the record
The sellers are represented by Eastdil Secured brokers Michael Pagliari, David Caprile and Sam Byczek.