The commercial area and two parking areas in the Marina City (center) corn cob towers were sold to a California-based company operated through Sperry Commercial.
Sun-Times Record Photo
A California foundation linked to Sperry Commercial scooped up the retail spaces and parking garages at the iconic Marina Towers for $30 million, and Rand Sperry, CEO of Sperry Commercial and one of the foundation’s trustees, said it has “big plans” for the site.
Sperry said the base plans to renovate and fill two 10,000-square-foot vacancies at the mall, which he said were related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“You don’t need empty spaces at River North. Es one of the places in town,” Sperry said.
Real estate firm JLL, which represented the seller, announced last week that Pebblebrook Hotel Trust sold the 146,000-square-foot retail space and two parking garages, totaling 900 spaces, at Marina City, 333 N. Dearborn St., to Sperry Equities, a real estate investment firm in Irvine, California, that represented the foundation.
JLL says 37% are restaurants, 30% are entertainment, and 33% are retail services.
The deal marks Sperry Equities’ 15th asset in the Chicago area, but its first downtown location, according to Rand Sperry.
He said the acquisition was due in part to his personal interest in the towers, as well as his interest in “one of the greatest cities in the world,” where his parents and grandparents were born.
Sperry added that he may see Marina Towers from his apartment in River North.
“Both buildings, I call them corn cob buildings. It’s so iconic, and when I was a kid I thought about how iconic they were,” he said.
The Marina City Towers, called the “symbol of new Chicago” in a 1963 Sun-Times story, were designed as a mixed-use complex by architect Bertrand Goldberg in the early 1960s.
Riverside condominiums were first featured in the 1980 film “The Hunter. “A fugitive pursued by bounty hunter Ralph “Papa” Thorson, played by Steve McQueen, flies away in his Cutlass Classic from the building’s 17th lot into the Chicago River. .
And it left a permanent mark on a former resident, who tattooed the towers on his thighs.
Current tenants of the assets include Yolk restaurants, Tortoise Supper Club and 10pin bowling alley, as well as Spin Ping Pong Club.
Sperry says he hopes to bring up an Italian restaurant, nightclub or experiential tenants like a Top Golf or an indoor pickleball court — anything that “provides cool entertainment for the other people who live here. “
He says Smith & Wollensky is undergoing a $4.5 million renovation and that Legal Sea Foods, replacing Dick’s Last Resort, is expected to open this year after a nearly $3 million improvement.
Most corporations have long-term leases, between 12 and 12 years, and Sperry said the plan is to renew leases with existing tenants.
“Tenants aren’t leaving. They love it there,” she said.
Keene Addington, owner of the Tortoise Supper Club, said he hasn’t heard of any adjustments to his business. Given the timing of the deal, just after the holidays, he said he hoped to hear from Sperry soon.
“We don’t know what their plans are, but I mean, the deal is closed,” Addington said.
Yolk CEO Taki Kastani is aware of the deal but hasn’t heard of any planned adjustments to the property.
“Our location in Marina City Yolk is one of the busiest in the business and we plan to continue to be successful in these assets for years to come,” Kastanis said in an email.
Ron Silvia, partner and vice president of sales at Jefferson Beach Yacht Sales, said the group planned to stay in Marina City. He said business was good last year, but down slightly from 2022.
Pebblebrook, in Bethesda, Maryland, put the assets up for sale in May and sold seven homes last year, for a total of $330. 8 million, according to a news release. The cash will be used for “general corporate purposes” in addition to debt repayment. and buyback percentages.
Pebblebrook did not respond to requests for comment. JLL may not know why Pebblebrook sold the property.
JLL said retail remains strong, with mall vacancy rates below 5% nationally and store openings outpacing closures.
“River North continues to be a destination for experiential retail and dining place rentals,” Michael Nieder, director of capital markets for JLL’s Chicago office, said in an email.
Sperry said he hopes businesses in Marina City will continue to remind Chicagoans of downtown, which he says has a bad reputation for being dangerous. He remembers visiting Marina City as a kid and is excited to share that experience with Chicagoans and tourists alike.
“So it’s a fun opportunity to carry on the legacy of Marina City,” he said.