Investors Plan Office Conversion in Loop

CHICAGO-Filmmaker and real estate developer Aiman Humaideh and his partner, Chicago attorney Peter Burdi, have purchased 24,000 sf of office space at 180 W. Adams St. The space was sold for $910,000 by McDonald’s Corp., which retains ownership of about 3,000 sf on the lower and ground levels where it operates a restaurant.

Ted Prillaman, VP of the office group with Grubb & Ellis, represented the buyers in the transaction, while McDonald’s was represented in-house. “When McDonald’s bought the building in the late 1970s, they bought it for the retail location and the retail space,” Prillaman tells GlobeSt.com. “They had toyed with the idea of redeveloping it themselves, but never did it. There was a great value in them disposing of the space they weren’t using rather than the liability that comes with a building that is in disrepair.” Prillaman says the fast food giant has recently replaced the windows in the building and had tuckpointing done.

Prillaman says Humaideh and Burdi plan to redevelop the long-vacant floors two through eight of the building into a boutique hotel, student housing or apartments. “Office space is probably a secondary consideration right now, given where pricing and rents are for office space,” Prillaman says. “It’s been vacant for decades and really needs a lot of work. It needs a whole rebuild.”