Bolton Group Eyes Buying West Loop Offices at Discount

An Italian consumer goods conglomerate is poised to scoop up a West Loop office building for far less than its last sale price.

A venture of Milan-based Bolton Group is finalizing a deal to buy the nine-story loft office building at 600 West Fulton Street, according to sources familiar with the deal and first reported by Crain’s. The buyer is expected to pay about $18 million for the 214,768-square-foot property at the corner of Fulton and Jefferson streets.

That would mark a steep discount from the $31.7 million paid for the building in 2006 by an entity led by Glencoe investor Randy Rissman, according to Cook County property records. The price would also fall well below the $27 million loan Rissman secured from Lincoln National Life Insurance to refinance the building in 2016.

The potential loss reflects the harsh math facing many office landlords, as weak demand for workspace, high interest rates and institutional investors largely steering clear of Chicago have hammered office property values across the central business district, according to the outlet, even for buildings near the booming Fulton Market District.

The looming maturity of Rissman’s loan likely accelerated the sale. Property records show the mortgage comes due in November, putting pressure on the owner and lender to sell.

Bolton appears to be part of a growing wave of user-buyers stepping into the market. People familiar with the deal told the outlet that the company plans to occupy a portion of the Fulton Street building for its own operations.

The family owned conglomerate controls more than 60 brands across food, home and personal care products, and generated more than $4 billion in revenue in 2024, according to its website. The firm has expanded its U.S. presence in recent years with acquisitions, including seafood supplier Tri Marine Group and canned tuna brand Wild Planet Foods.

The building itself was about 58 percent leased when it hit the market last summer, according to marketing materials from Cushman & Wakefield — well below the roughly 72 percent average occupancy for downtown office buildings.

Design, engineering and construction firm Epstein Global is the largest tenant, occupying nearly 43,000 square feet across the top two floors through 2029, according to the publication.

Originally built around the turn of the 20th century as a headquarters and distribution center for Sears, Roebuck & Company, the property was converted to loft offices in 1982 and received more than $10 million in upgrades over the past decade.

— Eric Weilbacher