Onni Eyes Second Big Loop Office Play with Distress Deal

Onni Group is closing in on its second major Loop office bet, negotiating to buy the 50-story tower at 161 North Clark Street — a move that would plant the Vancouver developer directly across from Google’s future Chicago headquarters.

The firm is in advanced talks to acquire the nearly 1.1 million-square-foot skyscraper from an affiliate of Societe Generale, which seized the property last year through a $237 million foreclosure, Crain’s reported, citing people familiar with the offering.

It would be Onni’s second turnaround project in the heart of the Loop. The company recently overhauled 225 West Randolph Street, rebranded as The Bell, and nearly filled it at a time when most downtown landlords are bleeding occupancy. A purchase of 161 North Clark would double down on its thesis that Google’s redevelopment of the Thompson Center — set to finish next year — will pull foot traffic, talent and tenants deeper into the central Loop.

That halo effect is already visible. Firms have cited proximity to Google as a reason to sign leases nearby, and the Clark Street tower itself just landed law firm Wilson Elser in a 20,000-square-foot deal tied directly to the tech giant’s arrival. CoStar pegs the building at almost 89 percent leased, well above the downtown average of 72 percent, buoyed in part by Cook County’s 106,000-square-foot swing-space lease signed in 2022.

The price Onni is offering is unclear, but it will almost certainly reflect the brutal reset in downtown’s office values. Societe Generale inherited the tower when its prior owners — a Korea Post-led venture advised by CBRE Investment Management — defaulted amid rising interest rates and collapsing workspace demand. A discount may force the bank to absorb a sizable loss on 161 North Clark Street, which last sold for roughly $331 million in 2013.

Societe Generale initially signaled it would hold the tower long-term, boasting of new leasing momentum even as it hired Eastdil Secured brokers Bryan Rosenberg and David Caprile to shop the property. Onni’s pursuit suggests a familiar pattern for the firm: buy distress, invest in modernization and ride a potential rebound, this one perhaps driven by the Thompson Center’s next phase.

Onni has become one of Chicago’s most prolific developers, best known for its residential push in Fulton Market, River North and Goose Island, where it has more than 5,000 apartments proposed. But the firm also has deep Loop credentials, owning 200 North LaSalle Street since 2012.

— Eric Weilbacher