CHICAGO — Silvestri Investments Inc. has acquired the flagship Neiman Marcus building located at 737 N. Michigan Ave. within Chicago’s Magnificent Mile, a 13-block shopping district that attracts more than 30 million visitors annually.
The transaction is one of only eight trades on Michigan Avenue over the past decade, according to JLL, which brokered the sale. The luxury department store chain has operated its 195,500-square-foot location since the four-story building was constructed in 1983. The 1.2-acre Neiman Marcus boasts the largest continuous frontage on Michigan Avenue at 200 feet.
Amy Sands, Clinton Mitchell, Alex Sharrin and Michael Nieder of JLL’s Retail Capital Markets team represented the undisclosed seller and procured the buyer in the 1031 exchange transaction. Christopher Knight, also of JLL, secured a seven-year acquisition loan on behalf of the buyer.
Chicago’s Magnificent Mile was hit particularly hard by the COVID-19 pandemic as tourism decreased and the city’s crime increased. Today, nearly a quarter of all Magnificent Mile retail space is vacant — more than double its vacancy four years ago, according to Crain’s Chicago Business.
Earlier this month, Brookfield Properties announced that it was turning over Water Tower Place shopping mall to its lender, indicating that the property is worth less than the estimated $300 million in debt owed on it. Crain’s also recently reported that Nuveen Real Estate has decided to sell the 51,800-square-foot space at 919 N. Michigan Ave. that is home to Louis Vuitton and David Yurman.
Houston-based Silvestri Investments Inc. is a privately held, family-owned real estate investment firm. The company oversees lease agreements for over 65 retail centers totaling more than 3.7 million square feet.
—Katie Sloan and Kristin Hiller