Tribune Media has sold its iconic Chicago tower to CIM Group, a real estate firm with experience owning and managing historical properties, the company announced Tuesday.
CIM will pay a total of $240 million for the Tribune Tower, which has been a Michigan Avenue landmark since its construction in 1925. The sale, part of Tribune's ongoing effort to reduce its real estate holdings, is expected to close in 3Q 2016, Tribune said.
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The building is 35 stories high and has roughly 740,000 square feet of office space. The sale also includes a 36,000 square foot development site east of the tower, according to Tribune.
“Tribune Tower has been a unique part of Chicago’s skyline since the 1920s,” said Tribune Media’s president and CEO Peter Liguori. “It is a gem of architectural and structural accomplishment and a constant reminder of the important role that Tribune has played in the development of the city itself.
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“Nonetheless, monetizing the significant assets of Tribune Media’s real estate portfolio is a strategic priority for the company and we are extremely pleased with the outcome of this sales process,” Liguori said. “Importantly, we’re achieving prices consistent with the $1 billion valuation of our portfolio.”
Since the beginning of the year, Tribune has sold several smaller properties in markets ranging from South Florida to Seattle for gross proceeds of approximately $89 million. Earlier this year, the company announced that it had agreements to sell the north block of the Los Angeles Times Square property and the nearby Olympic printing plant, both in Los Angeles. Those sales are also expected to close in the third quarter of 2016.
