Wacker Drive office tower sold at 75% discount

A 41-story office tower on Chicago's Wacker Drive has sold for $30 million, representing a 75% discount from its former price, according to The Real Deal and coverage from CoStar, Bisnow, The Business Journals and Crain's Chicago Business. The property traded to local investors, and reporting from The Business Journals frames the deal as a bet on Google's arrival.

The reporting concentrates on the scale of the price reduction and the identity of the buyers. The Real Deal identifies the purchasers as local investors and gives the $30 million sale price, while Bisnow describes the building as a 41-story office tower in its Chicago deal coverage. CoStar characterizes the trade as historic, noting that the tower changed hands for a fraction of its former price. The Business Journals and Crain's Chicago Business both lead with the 75% discount, and The Business Journals adds the Google connection as the investment thesis behind the purchase.

The transaction stands out because a major downtown Chicago office asset has repriced sharply while buyers are still underwriting a future tenant. The coverage does not specify the building's former sale price, the exact discount calculation, the buyers' names, or the terms of the deal. It also does not detail Google's planned arrival, including the timing, scope, or location of that expansion. What is established is the combination of a steep discount, local ownership and an expectation tied to Google's presence in the deal.

What to watch next is whether Google's arrival advances and whether that expectation translates into occupancy and leasing activity for the tower. The coverage also leaves open the broader question of how other downtown Chicago office properties may be repriced following this trade. For now, the confirmed facts are the $30 million purchase price, the 75% discount, the 41-story height of the building, the sale to local investors and the reported link to Google's arrival. Further reporting would be needed to establish the seller's identity, the property's prior valuation and the specifics of Google's Chicago plans.