Golub, CIM List Tribune Tower Retail Amid Magnificent Mile Woes

The owners of a Magnificent Mile tower are looking to offload the building’s 47,000 square feet of ground-floor retail.

Chicago’s Golub & Company and Los Angeles-based CIM Group tapped commercial real estate firm Eastdil Secured to find a buyer for the retail portion of the Tribune Tower, CoStar reported.

The property, at 435 North Michigan Avenue, is being marketed by brokers Michael Pagliari, David Caprile and Sam Byczek as a “generational opportunity” for investors seeking over 200 feet of frontage along Michigan Avenue.

Golub and CIM, headed by CEOs Michael Newman and Richard Ressler, purchased the 737,000-square-foot tower for $240 million in 2016, later converting most of it into high-end condos. The price broke down to about $325 per square foot.

The tower previously served as the longtime headquarters of the Chicago Tribune. However, in 2018, the newspaper relocated to the Prudential Plaza office complex, ending a 93-year run in the tower.

The sale comes at a time of uncertainty for North Michigan Avenue, with retail vacancies posing significant challenges for property owners. The retail space is just 36 percent leased, with tenants including the Museum of Ice Cream, Blue Bottle, Rowan and German watchmaker A. Lange & Söhne.

Several major retailers have exited the Magnificent Mile over the past few years. Among them is Bottega Veneta, which relocated to Oak Street in Gold Coast. Luxury brands like Chanel and Van Cleef & Arpels have also moved from the Mag Mile to the Gold Coast.

Signs of distress include the Alaska Permanent Fund’s forfeiting the Shops at North Bridge mall to Pacific Life Insurance via deed in lieu of foreclosure. Brookfield has also offloaded Mag Mile holdings, including the sale of 605 North Michigan Avenue at a steep discount in August and the give-back of Water Tower Place to its lender in 2022.

However, Mag Mile retail projects are in development, including a Harry Potter-themed store at 676 North Michigan Avenue and an 8,000-square foot storefront from Spanish retailer Mango.

— Andrew Terrell