Sun-Times Moving to 128,000 SF at 350 N. Orleans

CHICAGO-The Chicago Sun-Times is moving a half-mile west along the Chicago River, taking 128,000 sf at Vornado Realty Trust’s 350 N. Orleans St. The tabloid is being displaced by Trump Tower Chicago, a condominium and hotel project to be built on the site of their home of 46 years at 401 N. Wabash Ave.

The squat, seven-story building on the north side of the Chicago River is expected to be demolished later this year, part of a project to be overseen by “The Apprentice” victor and Chicago native Bill Rancic. Publisher Hollinger International, which is teaming with Donald Trump, will move the Sun-Times to space in the 27-year-old building Sept. 30.

The newspaper had considered buying office space rather than leasing, and was looking to land a site as visible as its current location. Although terms were not disclosed, published gross lease rates at the 1.2-million-sf property at the confluence of the river’s north and south branches start at $24 per sf.

“The new location offers riverfront exposure, great accessibility, and highly efficient space with few interior columns–ideal for a newspaper,” says U.S. Equities Realty president and chief operating officer Nancy Pacher, who represented the Sun-Times with vice president Geoff Euston and associate Meredith Soren Freese.

Occupancy at 350 N. Orleans was most recently 80%, according to Vornado Realty Trust’s most recent earnings report. Among the tenants there is Fox Sports, as well as 21st Century/RCN, Ameritech and Art Institute of Illinois.

John Dempsey and Bob Gillespie of CB Richard Ellis handled negotiations for Paramus, NJ-based Vornado Realty Trust, owner of the property’s 3.5-million-sf neighbor, the Merchandise Mart.