Editorial: Chicago should aim for 'World's Tallest,' not 'World's Tallest Teardown'

The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune on Jan 22, 2025

Published in Op Eds

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

This time of year, we often overlook the buildings that envelop us in the Loop as we trudge to work, shoulders bent against cruel winds and bitter cold. But we walk among giants, and that includes 311 S. Wacker Drive, the 65-story postmodern skyscraper that occupies the greater part of an entire block of prime real estate just across the street from Willis Tower.

This skyscraper made news earlier this month as details emerged of a pending deal to sell the building for just $70 million. This is a big development, made even bigger by speculation about what might come next for 311.

We could be witnessing Chicago’s transformation from the home of the world’s tallest building to the site of the world’s tallest teardown.

If the deal goes through, the current owners will take a stunning loss, as the building sold for over $300 million just over a decade ago. That burns, and is a shockingly low price for a building of this magnitude, especially when you consider that a single luxury condo in the St. Regis sold for over $20 million not too long ago.

We’re not here to nitpick the deals of the skyscraper’s sale — we’ll leave that to the developers and their teams. We care about what the deal signals for our city.

News of 311 S. Wacker’s sale negotiations sheds light on just how rough the city’s prolonged post-COVID recovery has been, especially for our commercial real estate market. The chance that the building could be demolished adds even more uncertainty into the mix, even if it is a “long-shot” possibility, as reported by former Tribune writer Ryan Ori, who has long followed Chicago’s commercial real estate market.

Our sensitivity to this story stems from our city’s economic vulnerability. Chicago’s downtown vacancy rate is still double its pre-COVID levels, with a record-high 25% of its commercial space sitting empty. The city’s population has declined to its lowest levels since 1920. Chicago faces $51 billion in pension debt — more than in 43 states — and perpetual budget crises. That, plus the second-highest commercial property taxes in the nation, are enough to make job creators think twice before coming here.

We want Chicago to return to its roots as the fastest-growing city in the world, and we can become a city on the rise again, but only by reforming government and the way we do business. That starts with getting our fiscal house in order, which would not only be an important step to address S&P’s recent credit downgrade but would also send a signal to investors that we have leaders serious about making this a place you can come to grow.

The speculation about the fate of 311 W. Wacker is a moment to be marked. Knockdown prices — and the threat of knocked-down skyscrapers — are a blow to our beloved downtown.

But a potential demolition also could signal the arrival of a structure that better serves the city than the current building, marking a turning point in which developers offer bold plans to remake a big chunk of Loop real estate. We hope whatever happens with the sale brings pride to the city.

_____