“A lender is poised to seize the Club Quarters hotel in the Loop, completing a foreclosure process that could have implications for a big office-to-apartment conversion project in the same building.

“An attorney for CWCapital Asset Management yesterday submitted a credit bid of $30 million in a Cook County sheriff’s sale for the 429-room inn at 111 W. Adams St. The Washington, D.C.-based special servicer represents bondholders in a nearly $274 million loan backed by the property and three other Club Quarters hotels in other markets, and filed a foreclosure lawsuit last year against their owner, a venture of New York-based private-equity giant Blackstone Group.

“Pending court approval, the bid will allow CWCapital to take title to the Chicago hotel, which occupies floors three through 10 in the vintage 41-story Clark Adams Building.

“It’s one of many distressed commercial properties infecting downtown in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has had a lasting impact on local hotel demand and hammered property values in the heart of the city. But the pending foreclosure also comes at a precarious time for the office floors above the hotel, which are slated to be turned into 400 apartments through a city subsidy program meant to help revitalize Chicago’s urban core.

“A $184 million proposal from Chicago-based developer Primera Group would transform the majority of the building into residences with the help of $68 million in tax-increment financing money from Chicago taxpayers. It’s one of several TIF subsidies totaling $317 million that would convert vacant Loop office space into more than 1,800 apartments under a 2022 program launched by former Mayor Lori Lightfoot.

“The proposal won the approval of a city TIF panel earlier this year and still needs the sign-off of the full City Council. But it also needs the hotel’s owner to bless a change to the planned development ordinance governing the entire property, which is where pending foreclosure comes into play.

“There’s also a chance, however, that Primera Group could sidestep the Club Quarters ownership under a city ordinance passed just last month. The measure allows certain large-scale buildings downtown that are designated as landmarks and split among multiple owners to get an alderman-supported zoning change for one without the consent of the others. That would help clear a path for the city-subsidized 105 W. Adams project, provided it is deemed a Chicago landmark.

“Primera Group, which bought the building for $11 million last year in partnership with Bloomingdale investor Marc Calabria, still needs the Commission on Chicago Landmarks to approve that landmark status. The tower was completed in 1927 and designed by the sons of famed architect Daniel Burnham” (Ecker, Crain’s Chicago Business, 8/20/25)”The Commission on Chicago Landmarks has approved a preliminary landmark recommendation for the Bankers Building at 105 W. Adams. Located at the southwest corner of S. Clark St and W. Adams St, the building is a 476-foot-tall commercial office building located in the heart of the Loop’s financial district and was designed by the Burnham Brothers, Inc. (Ecker, Crain’s Chicago Business, 8/20/25)

We’re concerned about this issue and will work hard to advance the landmarking and redevelopment of this important building. Preservation Chicago has been working closely with owners to support this adaptive reuse project. We’ve testified multiple times in support of Chicago Landmark Designation, Class L and other development requirements.

Read the full story at Crain’s Chicago Business

• Lender seizing distressed hotel in Loop tower set for conversion, Danny Ecker, Crain’s Chicago Business, 8/20/25
• Loop office-to-residential conversion faces fresh challenge, Danny Ecker, Crain’s Chicago Business, 9/16/25
• Preliminary landmark approved for Bankers Building at 105 W. Adams; Floors 11-40 of the building will be converted into 400 apartments, Lukas Kugler, Urbanize Chicago, 7/8/25
• Community Development Commission Approves Funding For 105 W Adams Street, Ian Achong, Chicago YIMBY, 5/15/25
• CDC approves $67.5 million in TIF for 105 W. Adams, Floors 11-40 will be converted into 400 mixed-income apartments, Lukas Kugler, Urbanize Chicago, 5/15/25
• City panel OKs subsidy for 400-unit office-to-apartment conversion, Danny Ecker, Crain’s Chicago Business, 5/13/25
• Bankers Building, 105 W. Adams St. Preliminary Landmark Designation Report, June 2025