Sterling Bay sues Tribune over $5M in skipped rent

Sterling Bay is suing the Chicago Tribune parent company over $4.8 million in missed rent payments at its Prudential Plaza tower, which the paper is vacating.

The developer and landlord claims Tribune Publishing hasn’t paid rent on its 137,000 square feet of leased newsroom and office space at the downtown building for nearly a year, the Chicago Tribune reported. Crain’s also reported on the lawsuit.

The Tribune, the city’s largest circulation daily newspaper, is shifting offices to its Freedom Center printing facility. The move continues a trend of companies trimming space or exiting leases entirely at their Downtown locations.

In its lawsuit filed in Cook County Circuit Court Tuesday, Sterling Bay alleges that Tribune Publishing hasn’t paid rent since March, and that the company ran out of cash reserves this month to cover missed payments, according to reports.

The Tribune left its gothic namesake tower in 2018 — CIM Group and Golub & Company are converting the building into luxury condos — and moved into Sterling Bay’s Prudential Plaza space. But the new digs didn’t last long, and for months, JLL has been marketing the space to potential tenants.

The future of the Tribune is also rocky. Hedge fund Alden Global Capital, the company’s largest shareholder, which has a reputation for slashing costs at newspapers, aims to acquire Tribune Publishing and take it private, according to reports.

In December, flex-office startup Industrious was sued by its landlord for $4 million in missed rent payments at its West Jackson Boulevard office, and for abandoning the space. [Tribune, Crain’s] — Sasha Jones

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