One of Chicago’s most recognizable properties, the 82-story Aqua at Lakeshore East apartment tower designed by architect Jeanne Gang, is for sale on the heels of thousands of other units downtown hitting the market in recent months.
JLL brokers have been hired to sell the 474-unit skyscraper at 225 N. Columbus Drive, according to a brochure.
The tower within the Lakeshore East development features a series of curved white balconies that create the appearance of waves on water.
It is one of the best-known works in the home city of Gang, who was awarded the Urban Land Institute’s most prestigious honor, the ULI Prize for Visionaries in Urban Development, in 2022.
Gang’s other Chicago works include the 101-story St. Regis Chicago skyscraper, which also is within Magellan Development Group’s master-planned Lakeshore East near Millennium Park, the Chicago River and Lake Michigan.
Aqua has changed hands just once, with Los Angeles-based Ares Management paying nearly $190.5 million in March 2019, according to Cook County property records and CoStar data. Magellan kept a minority ownership stake in that deal.
That previous sale, and the current offering brokered by JLL, is for 474 rental apartments, 974 parking garage spaces and about 56,000 square feet of commercial space at the base of the tower. The Radisson Blu hotel below the apartments and privately owned condominiums on floors above the apartments are not for sale.
It’s unclear how much Ares and Magellan are expecting in a sale. Both Ares and Chicago-based Magellan declined to comment to CoStar News.
More than 4,200 apartment units combined already had hit the market in recent months as developers have tested the market with Chicago leading all major U.S. markets in rent growth. The Chicago area has outpaced the nation because of a relative lack of new units developed in recent years as borrowing and construction costs have risen.
In one recent sale, Chicago-based multifamily giant Waterton paid $89.5 million for The Mason, a 263-unit tower in Fulton Market.
Aqua is 95% leased, with 4.8% rent growth on new leases signed in 2025, according to the brochure. JLL brokers are presenting the deal as an opportunity to further push up rents by upgrading units.
The property includes more than 110,000 square feet of amenities, according to JLL, such as a large outdoor deck with a running trail, indoor lap pool and fitness center with a basketball court.
For the record
The sellers are represented by JLL brokers Mark Stern, Kevin Girard, Zach Kaufman, Jeremy Weinstock and Sam Grohe.