US Equities officially took over April 1 for the Sears Tower, owned by 233 S. Wacker LLC, which includes American Landmark Properties, the Chetrit Group and the Moinian Group. US Equities chairman and chief executive officer Robert Wislow, vice chairman Camille Julmy and managing director and executive vice president Katherine Scott will be in charge of the leasing and managing decisions for the 3.8 million-sf tower. Senior vice president Jeffrey Barron will "oversee the leasing team's day-to-day initiatives," according to a released statement.

Tower management chose US Equities for the new leasing and property manager, in part, because of its experience as the leasing and management agent for the John Hancock Center, 875 N. Michigan Ave., says John Huston, executive vice president of Skokie-based American Landmark Properties. "We wanted a firm that was very good with multi-use properties and US Equities possesses that unique experience necessary to enhance multi-use properties like the Sears Tower and they are also the right fit for the ownership group," Huston says.

While managing the John Hancock Center, the occupancy rate was increased from 47% to 93% and retail occupancy was increased from 40% to fully occupied. US Equities also manages 20 N. Clark, 55 W. Monroe, 120 S. LaSalle and the Woodfield Corporate Center, Wislow says. "We have pretty much made our mark here by getting major properties like these leased up," he says.