“Two local real estate firms have teamed up to buy a River North loft office building from the lender that seized it last year, part of a growing number of bets on a post-pandemic comeback for boutique office properties.
“A joint venture of Chicago-based Cubed Real Estate and developer R2 paid just under $5 million last week for the six-story office building at 225 W. Ohio St., according to Illinois property records. The duo bought the 52,500-square-foot building at the southeast corner of Franklin and Ohio streets from an affiliate of Green Bay, Wis.-based lender Associated Bank, which took control of the property last year to resolve an outstanding loan.
“The sale price is well below the $13.3 million that the property traded for in 2015, public records show, one of many transactions highlighting the decimation of office building values amid elevated interest rates and remote work’s assault on demand for workspace.
“At a time when many institutional investors are shunning office purchases — particularly in Chicago — Cubed and R2 are wagering that smaller, well-located office buildings with owners willing to reinvest in them can generate operating profits and eventually see their value restored as the broader office market stabilizes.
“‘You’re diminishing this type of supply,’ Weber said. The Ohio Street property is already a gorgeous building at a great address. And we have the capital to get behind it as opposed to distressed office buildings where investors aren’t putting money into it.’ (Ecker, Crain’s Chicago Business, 8/25/25)
Read the full story at Crain’s Chicago Business
- Local investors buy distressed River North office building, Danny Ecker, Crain’s Chicago Business, 8/25/25
- 225 W. Ohio Street Listing LoopNet