CHICAGO—GlenStar Properties, LLC and the USAA Real Estate Co. have just completed the new retail lineup for the Chicago Board of Trade building at 141 W. Jackson Blvd., the next step in fulfilling their plan to broaden its appeal. The partners bought the property for $151 million in 2012 when it was only 61% occupied, primarily by trading firms that had been there for decades. As reported in GlobeSt.com, since then GlenStar and USAA have preserved that tenant base by renewing more than 100 leases, and have also finished $25 million in capital improvements.
In addition, they have brought in a host of new tenants that include software, engineering, public relations, investment and data center firms. And Christian Domin, GlenStar's managing director, now tells GlobeSt.com that the new and refurbished retail makes the 84-year-old landmark building even more competitive with the CBD's top office properties.
"In some ways, it's easy for new owners to add amenities like fitness centers and a new lobby; we can just write checks,” Domin says. The new retail team, however, was “charged with something really different. They had to find the right people and make sure they shared our vision of what the building could be.”
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Brian J. Rogal
Brian J. Rogal is a Chicago-based freelance writer with years of experience as an investigative reporter and editor, most notably at The Chicago Reporter, where he concentrated on housing issues. He also has written extensively on alternative energy and the payments card industry for national trade publications.
