Anth0 Forums

[mochni76]

yes it was owned by Sears even though they moved out long time ago

[baul]

Ownership of 233 S. Wacker Drive has been held by a few since Sears dumped it 2 years after moving to Hoffmann Estates in 1992


On 15 Nov 2006 15:24 PST it was reported that the Sears Tower was sold.

Property Owners:

Joseph Moinian (New York)
Joseph Chetrit (New York)
John Huston (Illinois)


The 3.8-million-square-foot building is owned by Skokie-based American Landmark Properties Ltd. and New York investors Joseph Chetrit and Joseph Moinian.



I remember a news story in the early 1980s on WBBM that the Sears Tower was going to be bought by Sony. I imagined a huge SONY logo at the very top. I could not find any source however

In 1994 Sears wanted to get rid of the building. These stories were in the news in 1997:

Only three years ago, the 110-story landmark was such a drain on Sears, Roebuck and Co. that the retailer relinquished the building and its $850 million in mortgages in a deal with AEW Capital Management, a Boston-based investment firm that held the debt with Metropolitan Life Insurance Co.

Sears relinquished its equity interest in the building to AEW two years later (1996) in an act of financial hand-washing.

Now TrizecHahn Corp. of Toronto is angling for the tower, according to reports. And rumors persist that Equity Office Properties Trust, controlled by Chicago financier Sam Zell, also is interested.

In Nov, 2002 the new owners wanted a "new deal"

Trizec Properties Inc. said it was writing down two-thirds of the $70 million investment made in 1997 to gain control of the 3.4 million-square-foot tower.

A spokeswoman for New York-based insurer Metlife Inc., which holds the mortgage, would not comment.

They took over but not for long. In Aug, 2003 ownership changed again:

MetLife takes over as the owner of the Sears Tower seven months after current controlling owner Trizec Properties Inc....

7 months later another deal:

MetLife Inc., owner of the 110-story tower in the West Loop, disclosed the sale Thursday. MetLife wouldn't reveal the buyers, but a source close to the sale said they are New York investors who held the lease on the World Trade Center.

The buyers, the source said, are Lloyd Goldman, Joseph Cayre and Jeffrey Feil.




Has it really been sold?

It doesn't appear that it has. Willis will be the largest tenant according to this recent release on 3/12/2009:

In a news release issued Thursday morning, the London-based insurance brokerage said it will consolidate five local offices into more than 140,000 square feet in the 110-story story structure at 233 S. Wacker Drive, which will be renamed Willis Tower.

Willis has agreed to pay annual rent of $14.50 a square foot and won’t pay extra for the naming rights, according to the release, which quoted John Houston, executive vice-president with Skokie-based American Landmark Properties Ltd., one of the skyscraper’s owners.

[payat83]

It looks like Sears Roebuck and Co. had the original "Sears Tower" (NOT a skyscraper) on the West Side .

Sears paid the City $2.7 million for the land to build the new building at its present location.

Sears employees occupied half of the tower (about 50 stories) until 1995 when they moved the employees to Schaumburg IL.