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For Sale: Willis Tower, the nation’s tallest building

date added: 04.07.2011

The group that owns Willis Tower is testing investors’ appetite for a piece of the nation’s tallest building.

The owners have hired two brokerages to market the 110-story building at 233 S. Wacker, either for an outright or a partial sale.

“The market is extremely strong for high-quality, highly leased properties,” said Bruce Miller, managing director at Jones Lang La Salle Inc., which isn’t involved in the potential sale. “The question is whether that building is perceived to be a stable asset.”

Formerly Sears Tower, the building is a complex investment because of its huge size, different floor layouts and sundry revenue streams, including money from its Skydeck tourist attraction and broadcast antennas.

Some office tenants left the building because of security concerns after the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. But it has mostly filled that space with deals that include a lease of 650,000 square feet by United Airlines.

Bill Utter, a spokesman for the owners, said about 18 percent of the tower is vacant. That puts the tower slightly above the reported averages for downtown Chicago office buildings.

“We can confirm that a recapitalization effort has commenced with a select number of qualified investors,” Utter said. “Our goal is to make a strong building even stronger.”

The owners include New Yorkers Joseph Moinian and Joseph Chetrit and Skokie-based American Landmark Properties Ltd.

The team paid $840 million for the tower in 2004 and have since remodeled much of it. In 2009, it negotiated a naming rights deal with an incoming tenant, insurance brokerage Willis Group Holdings Ltd.

Eastdil Secured LLC and Newmark Knight Frank are marketing the building. Its property includes a development site at the northeast corner of Jackson and Wacker where a hotel has been proposed.

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