Brookfield Sells Chicago Loop Office Building at Significant Markdown

Investment management company Brookfield recently sold its Chicago Loop office building at 175 W. Jackson Blvd. to a joint venture of real estate service company 601W Companies and real estate investor David Werner Real Estate. Brookfield previously acquired the property from Extell in 2018 for $306 million. The same building just sold at a significant discount, reportedly changing hands for $41 million.

601W and David Werner obtained acquisition financing from Northwind Group in the form of a $58.5 million first mortgage loan, structured as a $33.5 million initial advance at closing and $25 million reserved for future leasing costs.

“This acquisition continues our thesis of high-quality assets in strong locations at a reset basis,” Werner said. “Thank you to Ran Eliasaf and Michael Ainbinder at Northwind Group for their continued trust in DREWI and 601W, and for moving quickly and thoughtfully to get this transaction closed.”

LEED Gold-certified Chicago office space at 175 West Jackson Blvd.

Located in the Central Loop, the property occupies a full city block fronting Jackson Boulevard and Van Buren Street and has immediate access to multiple CTA lines and the city’s primary commuter hubs. Originally completed in 1911, the property has gone through capital improvements totaling more than $24 million, including a new amenity center and a rooftop space on the 22^nd floor.

Incorporating nearly 1.4 million square feet of LEED Gold-certified Chicago office space with floor plates averaging nearly 70,000 square feet — in addition to a 240-space parking garage and more than 55,000 square feet of retail — 175 W. Jackson Blvd. is well-positioned to capture demand from large-format tenants looking to establish or expand their presence in the central business district.

“We are excited to continue and expand our relationship with the sponsors, and to provide them with a flexible financing solution to revitalize the asset to its historically strong occupancy levels,” said Ran Eliasaf, founder and managing partner of Northwind Group. “Over the past year, we have seen a meaningful increase in institutional capital reentering the Chicago office market, as well as gradually increasing leasing activity and, in that environment, acquiring a high-quality asset at an attractive entry point, together with dedicated capital for leasing and tenant improvements, creates a meaningful advantage by allowing experienced owners to be proactive and competitive in attracting new tenants.

“We believe this combination, coupled with the property’s strong location and flexible large floor plates, positions the asset well for successful business plan execution. This conviction is informed by our prior experience working with this sponsorship group in a recent Chicago office financing by Northwind of 303 E. Wacker, in which they successfully leased over 125,000 square feet within one year of acquisition.”

In 2025, Chicago averaged one of the lowest office sales prices in the country ($65 per square foot) and racked up the largest office sales total of the year in the Midwestern region ($1.1 billion). Data analyzed for our latest national office report also showed that Chicago had the highest average asking rent for office space in the region — $28.30 per square foot, which was comfortably below the national average of $32.86 per square foot.

175 West Jackson Blvd. features large plates of Chicago office space averaging nearly 70,000 square feet.