Allstate selling Wacker Drive office building 

Allstate is looking to sell a downtown office building that it never moved into.

The Northbrook-based insurance giant has hired Colliers to market the 10-story, 133,600-square-foot office building at 29 North Wacker Drive, two years after buying it for $29.7 million, Crain’s reported. 

An asking price has not been revealed, but sources familiar with the listing expect offers to hover above $10 million. The building’s dramatic drop in value sheds light on the impact of remote-work trends and high interest rates, which have pummeled Chicago’s office sector over the past few years.

The listing marks a notable shift for Allstate, which initially signaled confidence in downtown Chicago’s recovery from the pandemic. Downtown office vacancy rates were soaring when Allstate bought it, but its move demonstrated a commitment to Chicago’s urban workspace. The company hinted at the possibility of relocating its headquarters to the Wacker Drive building following the sale of its long-held suburban campus.

Allstate, however, never occupied the Wacker Drive property, which is 57 percent leased, down considerably from the city average of nearly 24 percent.

During the pandemic, Allstate embraced remote work and subsequently sold its Northbrook campus, relocating its headquarters to a portion of a nearby building in the northern suburb. The company’s recent annual report highlights the success of remote work options in attracting qualified candidates and increasing applicant diversity, the outlet reported. 

Colliers is playing up the offering as an opportunity to own a prestigious building in the heart of Chicago. The property offers three full floors of available space totaling about 43,000 square feet, with potential value-add opportunities through the addition of a rooftop amenity deck.

Office sales were sluggish in Chicago last year, but a few notable properties have changed hands this year. Last month, R2 Companies paid nearly $60 million for the 41-story, 655,000-square-foot building at 150 North Michigan Avenue.

Scott Goodman’s Farpoint Development is in line to buy the 1.1 million-square-foot building at 161 North Clark Street, more than four months after lender Societe Generale moved to foreclose on it. 

—Quinn Donoghue 

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