Boeing’s sale of its former Chicago headquarters tower along the Chicago River overcame a shaky office sales market, converted the aerospace giant from owner to tenant, and simplified the property’s ownership.
Cushman & Wakefield brokers representing Boeing on the sale of the 36-story tower at 100 N. Riverside Plaza brought together one of the biggest owners and developers of corporate space in the city with the longtime owner of the land beneath the riverfront tower.
Houston-based Hines and New York-based Stahl Organization paid $22 million.
The relatively low price for a well-located office tower reflects that the sale was only for the leasehold interest, with the ground beneath it already controlled by Stahl in a ground lease that goes until 2084.
But by forming a venture with Hines, a top developer of trophy office towers along the river, Stahl created the potential to consolidate ownership and modernize the tower for new tenants.
The deal was selected by a panel of real estate professionals as the 2026 CoStar Impact Award sale/acquisition of the year in Chicago.
About the project: Boeing became a tenant at 100 N. Riverside in the 2001 headquarters move to Chicago from Seattle, before later buying the property for $165.2 million in 2005.
Boeing’s sale of the leasehold interest followed the move of the company’s corporate headquarters from Chicago to Arlington, Virginia, in 2022.
Plans to upgrade the tower coincide with historically high vacancy in the Loop business district, but also with few large blocks available along the river.
Boeing signed a lease to remain in more than 70,000 square feet as a tenant.
What the judges said: “100 North Riverside Plaza stands as the best sale of the year because it symbolizes the Loop’s transformation into a new era,” said Eric Turrin of North Park Ventures. “By restructuring the ground lease and repositioning the asset beyond its legacy corporate identity with Boeing, the deal reflects the shift from old-guard headquarters to a more dynamic, multitenant future. In a market searching for momentum, this transaction shows the Loop isn’t fading — it’s evolving.”
They made it happen: Cushman & Wakefield brokers Cody Hundertmark, Tom Sitz, Jeff Cole, Kelsey Berry, Jeremiah Olsen and Zachary Brown represented Boeing in the sale.