Family offices are taking big swings in Chicago’s distressed commercial real estate market, while many institutional investors are sitting on the sidelines. The family behind European alcohol giant Campari Group is leading the pack with no signs of slowing down.
Since 2021, the firm has made over $100 million in real estate investments in Chicago across retail, office and multifamily.
Along with Chicago-based developer R2, Campari started construction today on the city’s first publicly subsidized office-to-residential conversion, at 79 West Monroe.
Milan-based Campari is known for spirit brands that include its namesake Campari as well as Aperol, Skyy, Grand Marnier and Wild Turkey.
The group’s interest in Chicago comes as institutional lenders are holding back due high interest rates and Cook County property tax reforms adding uncertainty to the market.
Campari’s major deals in recent years include the $36 million purchase of Fulton Market food hall Time Out Market, the $21 million purchase of a boutique office building at 217 North Jefferson Street, and the $50 million spent to purchase 79 West Monroe.
Campari Group bought the properties in cash and took mortgages out against them a few weeks later. The financing is not part of a broader strategy but gives the firm more flexibility in buying, said Massimilio Seliziato, director of Lagflin SCA, the Luxembourg-based entity overseeing the Campari family’s investments and controlling shareholder of Campari Group.
“They are jewels for us, and we really want to invest in them to preserve them,” Seliziato said. “We know, of course, that they have a very strong connection to the city.”
At 79 West Monroe, the developers plan to convert floors seven through thirteen into 117 residential units. The remainder of the 14-story property will be used for tenant amenities and mixed-use commercial space.
The adaptive reuse project is among the initial batch of properties to move forward as part of the LaSalle Street Reimagined initiative, a city-driven effort to revitalize the Loop by introducing more residential options in an area traditionally dominated by commercial spaces. The project is estimated to cost $64.2 million, with $28 million in property tax increment financing — a city-awarded subsidy that caps the cost of real estate taxes for over two decades — provided by LaSalle Street Reimagined.
Thirty-five percent of the units will be designated as affordable housing, slightly surpassing the city’s requirements under the program.
Other private investors are following Campari’s lead, including other European-based family offices.
Amancio Ortega, the billionaire founder of the Zara clothing retailer, paid more than $231 million for a 492-unit apartment tower near Fulton Market, in the priciest deal for any commercial property in Chicago in 2023.
More recently, the Maramotti family, which owns global fashion brand Max Mara, bought 41 East Oak Street in the ritzy Gold Coast neighborhood in late 2024. The Italian family bought the 5,000-square-foot retail building, which is leased to high-end retailer Bottega Veneta, for more than $17 million, or upward of $3,400 per square foot.