Lenders Taking Over Chicago’s Highest Profile Shopping Mall on Magnificent Mile, Owners Dumping Malls Due to Crime

https://twitter.com/ToddLighty/status/1511656745860571138?s=20&t=_Tt9UIfvK9k7SNMOUaz_Mw

Owners of Water Tower Place are handing the property over to its lender.
"Nearly a quarter of all Mag Mile retail space is vacant today, more than double its vacancy just four years ago."https://t.co/L17N2OSeNZ

— Lauren Jiggetts (@laurenjiggetts) April 6, 2022

Water Tower Place owner gives up the property

Story continues below advertisement

Lender MetLife will take over the iconic mall along the Magnificent Mile, which has been beset by vacancies during the pandemic.

By David Roeder, Chicago Sun Times, Apr 5, 2022:

Water Tower Place, 835 N. Michigan Ave., is being taken over by its lender, MetLife.

Brookfield Properties said Tuesday that it is turning over the vertical mall to its lender, a unit of New York-based insurer MetLife. The action indicates Brookfield believes the mall is worth less than an estimated $300 million in debt on the property.

It’s another setback for a complex that once defined retail chic but whose fortunes were cut down when the pandemic forced prolonged shutdowns. Water Tower Place, 835 N. Michigan Ave., also suffered from shopper reactions to growing crime along the Magnificent Mile.

Incidents involving youths led the mall’s management to impose limits on when minors could visit unaccompanied by an adult.

The Macy’s closed early in 2021. Numerous other retailers closed for good at the mall, including the Foodlife food hall, Mity Nice Bar & Grill, Gap and Banana Republic.

Dave Franecki, spokesman for MetLife Investment Management, provided this statement: “Water Tower Place is a high-quality real estate asset that is well-positioned in the Chicago market.While we cannot comment on specifics of this transaction, MetLife Investment Management has a proven track record in institutional real estate and a dedicated team in the Chicago area. We look forward to discussing the future of this iconic shopping destination with our clients and other key stakeholders.”

Brookfield spokesperson Lindsay Kahn declined to discuss the transaction, first reported by Crain’s Chicago Business. She provided a statement that said, “Water Tower Place will no longer be part of Brookfield’s portfolio. After many discussions to carefully assess and identify all available options to move forward, we’ve determined that it is best to focus Brookfield’s resources on other opportunities within our portfolio.”

Keep reading……

The Truth Must be Told

Your contribution supports independent journalism

Please take a moment to consider this. Now, more than ever, people are reading Geller Report for news they won't get anywhere else. But advertising revenues have all but disappeared. Google Adsense is the online advertising monopoly and they have banned us. Social media giants like Facebook and Twitter have blocked and shadow-banned our accounts. But we won't put up a paywall. Because never has the free world needed independent journalism more.

Everyone who reads our reporting knows the Geller Report covers the news the media won't. We cannot do our ground-breaking report without your support. We must continue to report on the global jihad and the left's war on freedom. Our readers’ contributions make that possible.

Geller Report's independent, investigative journalism takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce. But we do it because we believe our work is critical in the fight for freedom and because it is your fight, too.

Please contribute here.

or

Make a monthly commitment to support The Geller Report – choose the option that suits you best.

• $25.00 here
• $50.00 here
• $75.00 here
• $100.00 here
• $250.00 here