Tom’s Recommended Reading for the Week

Check out the top news in Chicago commercial real estate before heading into the weekend!

1. 11 Historic Buildings Getting New Life as Hotels & Apartments – Chicago’s strong architectural legacy lives on not only in our minds and in history books, but also in the dozens of historic buildings all around the city whose age and pedigree make them too important to get rid of, but too outdated to still serve their original purpose. Buildings meant to be offices a century ago no longer meet the needs of office tenants today, so in order to avoid money-wasting vacancy or tragic dilapidation, these buildings need to find new uses. Fortunately, the rebounding economy is seeing a lot of interest in rescuing these historic buildings by changing their use from offices to something new… Curbed Chicago
   
2. Citizens Financial Co-Finances $296M for West Loop Tower – Citizens Financial Group recently helped complete a $296 million construction loan to finance the development of 150 N. Riverside, one of several new office towers beginning to rise along the Chicago River in the West Loop. The O’Donnell Investment Co. began construction on the 53-story, 1.2-million-square-foot building in July and the loan closed in August, Citizens’ officials tell GlobeSt.com. The bank was the joint lead arranger and joint bookrunner along with Bank of America and Helaba… Globe St.
   
3. Hearn poised for big gain in $241 million Loop office sale – After buying a 40-story Loop office tower three years ago and filling up most of its empty space, Hearn Co. is selling out for a big profit. The Chicago-based office investor agreed to sell the Helmut Jahn-designed tower at 55 W. Monroe St. for about $300 per square foot, or $241 million, to John Hancock Real Estate, according to people familiar with the deal… Crain’s Chicago
   
4. South Street Capital plans office project on Chicago’s Goose Island – A Chicago real estate investor is doubling down on its bet that Goose Island will emerge as an office market, planning a $90 million project accessible by a new cycling and pedestrian bridge over the Chicago River. A venture of South Street Capital paid almost $8.25 million Aug. 28 for the Goose Island Boat Yard, a three-acre property along the Chicago River where it plans to build a six-story, 350,000-square-foot office building, said South Street Co-founder Matt Garrison… Crain’s Chicago
   
5. What Corporations Can Coopt from Co-Working  – Companies seeking to attract top, young talent—and who isn’t?—by creating dynamic work environments should look not only at the non-traditional spaces seen in large tech companies, but also at smaller incubators offering co-working spaces. Co-working originated within the corporate environment in the early 2000s to support “co-opetition”—collaborations and even partnerships between competitors with synergistic strengths (think of Microsoft and Cisco)… NREI