The landlord of Apple’s “ambitious” Chicago store has opened last fall has put the building up for sale. Walton Street Capital paid $370 million for the store, which opened in October 2017.
Walton has hired Eastdil Secured to market the store, notes the Wall Street Journal. The firm hopes to sell the store and 10,000 square feet of retail space in the adjoining office building for up to $175 million.
Apple currently pays rent “well below” the average $400 to $500 per square feet of other businesses in the Michigan Avenue area, per the WSJ. A change in landlords could affect rates, though Apple is one of the few U.S. retailers doing well in its physical stores.
“Apple Michigan Avenue is about removing boundaries between inside and outside, reviving important urban connections within the city,” said Jony Ive, Apple’s chief design officer. “It unites a historic city plaza that had been cut off from the water, giving Chicago a dynamic new arena that flows effortlessly down to the river.”
He adds that every design feature serves to minimize the boundary between the city and the Chicago River. Even the building’s 111-by-98 foot carbon-fiber roof was designed to be as thin as possible, and the entire structure is supported by four interior pillars that allow the 32-foot glass facades to remain unobscured.
