CHICAGO—Taking on one of the city's iconic properties, such as the John Hancock Center, can bring a bit more scrutiny to a property manager, but officials from U.S. Equities Asset Management, LLC, which was just chosen by Amtrak to manage the West Loop's Union Station, say they can handle that pressure.

“We actually embrace all the challenges of working on iconic properties,” says Katherine Scott, the firm's executive vice president and managing director. U.S. Equities just assumed management duties at the Ford City Mall, for example, managed the Willis Tower through a turnaround, and, back in the 1990s, also handled the Hancock building.

U.S. Equities was selected following a competitive bidding process and secured a deal lasting about five years, Scott adds. They will take over the train station, which includes numerous retail and restaurant outlets, on August 1, and would like to modernize maintenance procedures, refurbish the waiting areas for train passengers and areas used by retail customers. The full scope of their activities, however, has not been decided. Amtrak has to carefully consider its budgets over the next few years before deciding how much funding they can commit toward any refurbishment of the 88-year-old station.

Recommended For You

Want to continue reading?
Become a Free ALM Digital Reader.

Once you are an ALM Digital Member, you’ll receive:

  • Breaking commercial real estate news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
  • Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
  • Critical coverage of the property casualty insurance and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
NOT FOR REPRINT

© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.

Brian J. Rogal

Brian J. Rogal is a Chicago-based freelance writer with years of experience as an investigative reporter and editor, most notably at The Chicago Reporter, where he concentrated on housing issues. He also has written extensively on alternative energy and the payments card industry for national trade publications.