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John Buck Venture Puts Former CNA Tower Up for Sale

A venture of The John Buck Company (TJBC) has hired JLL to market CNA Financial’s former East Loop headquarters building for sale as TJBC completes a major redevelopment, Crain’s Chicago Business reported. Known as “Big Red” for its distinctive red facade, the 1.1-million-square-foot tower at 333 S. Wabash Ave. could fetch about $375 million.

At that price, a sale would represent a big payout for TJBC and its partner, Morgan Stanley. The venture bought the 44-story office tower from CNA for $108 million in 2015, and the insurer agreed to move its headquarters to a new 35-story high-rise TJBC planned to develop elsewhere in the Loop. The new tower, 151 N. Franklin St., opened last year.

Then, TJBC secured a commitment from Northern Trust for 462,000 of the 750,000 square feet that CNA vacated at 333 S. Wabash. Northern Trust is expected to move into the new space in 2020.

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About Paul Bubny

Paul Bubny serves as Senior Content Director for Connect Commercial Real Estate, a role to which he brings 16-plus years’ experience covering the commercial real estate industry and 30-plus years in business-to-business journalism. In this capacity, he oversees daily operations while also reporting on both local/regional markets and national trends, covering individual transactions across all property types, as well as delving into broader subject matter. He produces 7-10 daily news stories per day and works with the Connect team and clients to develop longer-form content, ranging from Q&As to thought-leadership pieces. Prior to joining Connect, Paul was Managing Editor for both Real Estate Forum and GlobeSt.com at American Lawyer Media, where he oversaw operations at both publications while also producing daily news and feature-length articles. His tenure in B2B publishing stretches back into the print era, and he has served as Editor in Chief on four national trade publications. Since 1999, Paul has volunteered as the newsletter editor of passenger rail advocacy groups (one national, one local).

  • ◦Sale/Acquisition