When the longtime owner of the Chicago Board of Trade Building walked away from that investment in early 2023, it was among many financially troubled office buildings handed back to their lenders throughout the country.
Despite widespread financial distress in the office real estate market, the lender-turned-owner of the 44-story tower at 141 W. Jackson Blvd. decided to go on the offensive, investing in upgrades and seeking out new tenants.
That approach paid dividends for Apollo Global Management fund Athene and its local real estate partner, R2, which in 2024 executed 133 new leases and renewals for more than 480,000 square feet combined.
Leasing successes stood out amid challenges in the sector nationally, and when considering the way older office buildings in Chicago’s longtime financial district on and around LaSalle Street have struggled to keep up with modern towers.
The nearly 1.4 million-square-foot building forms the southern wall of the so-called LaSalle Street canyon of office buildings. It is topped by a huge statue of Ceres, the Roman goddess of agriculture, in a nod to agricultural commodities and other securities that long were traded from noisy open-outcry pits in the building.
With little in-person securities trading these days, the owner has modernized the building with new and upgraded amenities and move-in-ready spec suites.
Changes have included improvements to the landmarked lobby, a redesigned fitness center, a new high-tech conference center and an activation of the 10-story atrium created when a Helmut Jahn-designed expansion of the building was completed in the 1980s.
Real estate professionals voted the project a 2025 CoStar Impact Award winner for redevelopment of the year in Chicago.
About the project: New York-based Athene took possession of the tower after Glenstar Properties and Oaktree Capital Management walked away from the property they had owned since 2012. Athene had provided a $198 million loan when the property was refinanced in February 2020, just ahead of the pandemic that devasted property values throughout the country and led to reduced usage of office space.
Leasing success in 2024 was from smaller deals, with no new deals or renewals of 20,000 square feet or more.
What the judges said: "I am very happy to see the new life that has been brought into the Chicago Board of Trade by this redevelopment,” said Charles Ditchman of The Annex Group. “I think all the spaces have been well crafted and reflect their place in history from the original Chicago Board of Trade to the Helmet Jahn addition. I like the fact that increased pedestrian foot traffic has had a positive impact on the surrounding businesses."
They made it happen: The redevelopment was led by Matt Pistorio, a partner at R2, and leasing brokers Andrew Marty and Adam Pines of Madison Rose.