Hines JV Acquires Chicago Trophy Tower for $115M

A joint venture between Prime Finance and Hines has acquired 225 W. Wacker Drive, a Class A, 31-story, 651,000-square-foot office tower in downtown Chicago, for $115 million from Spear Street Capital.

The sale price is approximately 45 percent less than the $210 million Spear Street Capital paid when it purchased the building in June 2020 from Mirae Asset Financial Group. The property became subject to a $158 million loan in October 2020 originated by Royal Bank of Canada, according to Yardi Matrix data.

The tower is located at the intersection of Wacker Drive and Franklin Street, where Chicago’s West Loop and River North neighborhoods converge. The property has direct access to Chicago’s Riverwalk and is situated near the city’s transportation network, restaurants, hotels and entertainment destinations.

Completed in 1988, the building is home to Cushman & Wakefield’s global headquarters. The firm is an anchor tenant, leasing more than 83,000 square feet.

Cushman & Wakefield, which began marketing the building in February, advised Spear Street Capital on the sale. The firm’s National Office Investment Advisory Group, comprising Executive Managing Directors Cody Hundertmark and Tom Sitz and Directors Jeremiah Olsen and Kelsey Berry, represented Spear Street Capital. The firm’s Equity, Debt and Structured Finance Group, led by Vice Chair Jeff Altenau, also advised Prime Finance in sourcing acquisition financing.

Cushman & Wakefield is expected to be retained by Prime Finance to oversee property management and agency leasing.

The tower’s transformation

Sitz, who is also co-head of Midwest Capital Markets, said in prepared remarks that 225 W. Wacker Drive is one of the largest and highest-quality office towers to change hands in downtown Chicago since 2022. According to Sitz, the building’s recent renovations, amenity enhancements and leasing momentum generated significant investor interest.

Soon after acquiring the building, Spear Street Capital chose Skender as the general contractor for three different construction projects, including upgrades to the lower lobby and Franklin Street entrance, fourth-floor amenity space and roof deck. The investments also featured improvements to conferencing and collaboration spaces, a tenant lounge and fitness facilities.

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Cushman & Wakefield managed the process. The renovation began in 2021 and was unveiled in early 2023. The tower received a LEED Gold recertification in October 2022.

With the new ownership, the joint venture is planning additional investments to the building, including a re-envisioned lobby-level restaurant and bar. The improvements aim to activate the ground floor and strengthen the property’s connection to the riverfront.

More Prime and Hines deals

Known as a private commercial real estate credit platform with a range of financing options, Prime Finance is also a CRE investor. The firm, which has offices in San Francisco, Chicago and New York, has more than $15.2 billion in assets under management as of June 30. In March, a joint venture of Prime Finance, Redwood West, Panattoni and Prism Places purchased Victoria Gardens, a 1.2 million-square-foot retail asset in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., from Brookfield Properties and Queensland Investment Corp. for $530 million. It was one of the largest retail deals recorded in Southern California.

Hines has been returning to the office market in the past year. Also in Chicago, the firm partnered with The Stahl Organization to acquire Boeing’s leasehold interest in its former headquarters at 100 N. Riverside Plaza in December 2025 for $22 million. The 36-story tower has roughly 776,000 square feet of space.

More recently, Hines purchased 405 Colorado, a 25-story, 206,000-square-foot Class AA trophy tower in downtown Austin, Texas, from Brandywine Realty Trust for $151 million. Tenants include Cushman & Wakefield, JPMorgan, Bain & Co., AllianceBernstein and Snap Inc.