Developers Eye West Loop, East-West Corridor for Office-Condos

CHICAGO-A 48-year-old West Loop office building, across the street from Sears Tower, is getting an $18-million makeover, part of a conversion to office-condominiums. Meanwhile, CD Real Estate Development LLC plans to build 119,000 sf of office-condominiums mostly from the ground up on 17 acres on Diehl Road near Interstate 88 in Naperville.

Mercantile Financial Center, LLC paid $16.7 million for the 230,064-sf building at 250 S. Wacker Dr. last year from another limited liability corporation. Mercantile Financial Center, LLC is renovating the building’s facade, replacing windows, adding terrazzo flooring in the lobby as well as a fitness center in an attempt to lift the their property from class C to class A status. They plan to sell office-condominiums ranging from 2,841 sf to 18,114 sf at prices starting at $221 per sf. In addition to office-condominiums, the renovated building will include 15,348 sf of ground-floor retail space, which can be divided into two or three units.