One of the world’s wealthiest people is in talks to buy a trophy office tower in Chicago from another billionaire who rarely sells real estate, setting up what could be the biggest office sale in the city in more than four years.
Spain’s Amancio Ortega, the founder of global fashion chain Zara, is working on a deal to buy the 51-story building at 1 N. Wacker Drive, one of the highest-rent Chicago corporate addresses, according to people familiar with the situation. Eastdil Secured brokers confirmed this year they are working with billionaire Donald Bren’s Irvine Co. to explore options, including a potential sale.
The offering has been closely watched because Irvine has invested more than $2 billion in trophy offices in Chicago without ever selling a property in the city. It also has been observed as a gauge of values for top-tier offices in Chicago after years of mostly distressed sales throughout the country in the wake of the pandemic.
The potential deal for 1 N. Wacker, to include the assumption of a commercial mortgage-backed securities loan for $353 million, is still preliminary and could fall apart. But if it's completed, it would be the first sale in Chicago by Newport Beach, California-based Irvine.
An exact price could not be determined, but it is believed to be well above $500 million. That would be the highest-priced office deal in Chicago since March 2022, when the controlling stake of Bank of America Tower sold. That deal valued the building at 110 N. Wacker Drive at more than $1 billion.
High occupancy, low interest rate
Ortega’s real estate investment arm, Ponte Gadea, is a prolific buyer of real estate throughout the world, with a U.S. office in Miami. He remains the largest shareholder in Zara’s parent company, Inditex.
In Chicago, Ortega’s holdings include the former Esquire Theater building in the Gold Coast that is leased to luxury retailers, a North Michigan Avenue property leased to Tiffany & Co., Ralph Lauren and its RL Restaurant, and the Eurostars Magnificent Mile hotel in River North.
Most recently, Ortega paid $231.5 million for the 492-unit apartment tower at 727 W. Madison St. in 2023. That is the highest-priced multifamily deal in the city since COVID-19 hit.
Ortega’s firm did not respond to requests seeking a comment from CoStar News. Irvine declined to comment beyond reiterating the Eastdil statement from January saying that it is reviewing options for the property.
Forbes estimates Ortega’s net worth at $140 billion, rating No. 11 in the world. Bren’s worth is estimated at $19.2 billion, ranking 141st globally.
Trophy spaces
Completed in 2001, the more than 1.4 million-square-foot tower is nearly 92% leased to tenants such as PwC, Barnes & Thornburg, Fitch Ratings and UBS, according to CoStar data.
Irvine’s CMBS loan on the property doesn’t mature until 2031, CoStar data shows. The fixed-rate loan has an interest rate of 2.71%, far below today’s rates.
Demand for offices has fallen to historically low levels since the onset of the pandemic in early 2020.
Yet the highest-quality towers in Chicago have little vacancy, with tenants willing to pay the highest rents contending for trophy spaces. Recent refinancing deals have reflected top-tier properties’ continued high valuations despite broader struggles in the office sector.
Last year, the developers of the recently completed, 60-story Salesforce Tower along the Chicago River landed $610 million in new CMBS debt, with the property’s long-term value estimated at $888 million.
Chicago tower investments
After buying Bank of America Tower in 2022, Chicago-based Callahan Capital Partners and New York-based Oak Hill Advisors late last year refinanced it for $700 million after the property was appraised at just over $1 billion.
For many years, Irvine was known in Chicago as one of the likeliest buyers of premier Chicago towers, after paying well over $2 billion between 2010 and 2015 for 1 N. Wacker, the 48-story tower at 71 S. Wacker and the 60-story building at 300 N. LaSalle St.
While Irvine’s chairman Bren is known for holding properties for decades, he does sometimes sell.
That includes a selloff of a six-property office portfolio in San Diego that concluded in 2025. It’s unclear whether Irvine is considering selling any other Chicago properties.
Irvine has made extensive investments at 300 N. LaSalle after losing two huge tenants, Kirkland & Ellis and Boston Consulting Group, such as new dining and riverfront outdoor space. It also has brought in several new tenants.
When its $475 million loan on the LaSalle Street tower matured in 2024, Irvine paid it off with no new debt to replace it.