Media Coverage
Read snapshots of what reporters are saying:
Three New Leases Inked at 155 N. Wacker
CoStar.com
October 7, 2009
The John Buck Co. signed three tenants totaling 38,104 square feet at its newly completed Class A glass and steel high-rise office building at 155 N. Wacker, the most recent entry into the Chicago skyline.
Midwest Construction Best of 2009 - 155 North Wacker Dr named Office Project of the Year
Midwest Construction
September 23, 2009
Midwest Construction is announcing the winners of its Best of 2009 competition. The annual contest recognizes excellence in heavy construction and design in Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin and Missouri, as well as Iowa, Ohio, Michigan, and Minnesota.
In mid-September independent experts judged the 128 projects entered in the competition’s 20 classifications. Eligible projects were completed in 2009 or fall, 2008.
The entries were sorted into categories so judges could compare similar projects by key criteria, such as quality, project management, innovation, challenges overcome, and safety. Outstanding projects were given an award of merit. In nearly all categories, the most outstanding project was given a project-of-the-year award.
John Buck Buys 1501 M St. From CBRE Investors
CoStar Group
July 6, 2009
A fund managed by The John Buck Co. purchased 1501 M St. NW, a 170,300-square-foot office building five blocks north of the White House, from CB Richard Ellis Investors for an undisclosed price.
M Street Building trades at John Buck Co.
Washington Business Journal
July 6, 2009
The John Buck Co. has bought 1501 M St. NW -- a 170,311-square-foot trophy office building in D.C. -- for about $60 million from CB Richard Ellis Investors.
It is the third D.C. asset purchased by the Chicago-based real estate firm and its second D.C. acquisition in the last 10 months.
E&Y Agrees to 204,000-SF Lease at New Tower
GlobeStreet.com
December 23, 2008
Accounting firm Ernst & Young has finalized negotiations to take 203,618 square feet on floors 19 through 26 in the John Buck Co.'s new 46-story tower at 155 N. Wacker. The firm will take up occupancy in the 1.1-million-square-foot building at its completion in July 2010. With this 10-year lease, the tower, which is seeking LEED Silver certification, is 72% preleased.
Ernst & Young to leave Sears Tower for 155 N. Wacker
Crain's Chicago Business
December 22, 2008
In one of the largest downtown office leases of the year, Ernst & Young U.S. LLP has decided to move out of the Sears Tower and into a new Wacker Drive office building being developed by John Buck Co.
Abu Dhabi buys 25% of John Buck Co.
Crain's Chicago Business
December 4, 2008
Chicago-based developer John Buck Co. has sold a 24.9% stake in the firm to an
investment arm of Abu Dhabi.
An affiliate of Mubadala Development Co. is investing in Buck after the two entities in March
formed a joint venture, John Buck International, which is developing a central business district for Abu Dhabi that will include four office towers totaling almost 3 million square feet and a new stock exchange building.
Mubadala Buys Stake in U.S.'s John Buck
The Wall Street Journal
December 5, 2008
Mubadala Development Co. said it would buy a 24.9% stake in John Buck Co., cementing a joint venture between the Abu Dhabi government-owned investment vehicle and the Chicago developer.
Interstate, John Buck Open Hotel in Tennessee
Commercial Property News
September 19, 2008
Interstate Hotels & Resorts has announced that it has opened and will operate the aloft hotel Nashville-Cool Springs, in Tennessee. The 143-room, newly built hotel is owned by a joint venture in which Interstate and The John Buck Company of Chicago are partners.
It is the second aloft hotel developed and opened by the partnership in 2008. The John Buck Co. oversees development of the hotels for the partnership.
Real Estate Firm signs a 10-year deal at 155 N. Wacker
Crain's Chicago Business
September 15, 2008
The real estate investment banking and advisory firm M3 Capital Partners LLC has signed a 10-year lease for 27,115 square feet for its headquarters at 155 N. Wacker Drive, the new tower being built by John Buck Co.
Park's opening offers preview of 'New Cicero,' town officials say
Chicago Tribune
September 4, 2008
Click here to see images from the opening event
Last Friday, the town took its next big step toward at least a Newly Constructed Cicero with the opening of an 11-acre outdoor festival park. The $6.8 million project is on the site of the former parking lot of Sportsman's Park, once a premier horse-racing facility that deteriorated into an eyesore when it closed in 2003. The old racetrack sits across the street from the new park at 3301 S. Laramie Ave., called Cicero Community Park. Officials say the racetrack soon will be demolished to make way for 68 acres of retail shops and parking.
Casa Ramero get's a Facelift!
Journal News
September 3, 2008
The John Buck Company, with over 40 volunteers, sponsored its annual Volunteer Day on Tuesday, August 26, 2008. Along with eight Chicagoland subcontractors, the team building day began promptly at 9:00 a.m. The volunteers made it a true team effort and worked their magic in giving Casa Romero a fantastic facelift.
Buck Raising Fund to Invest in Troubled Loans
Crain's Chicago Business
August 13, 2008
Looking to take advantage of the troubled market for commercial real estate mortgages, John Buck Co. is raising a $150-million fund to invest in distressed debt.
Buck Pays Close to $169M for Offices, Land
GlobeSt.com
August 3, 2008
John Buck Co., based here, has acquired six of the buildings at Parkway North, on Parkway North Boulevard, here. John Buck Co. acquired the buildings from a partnership of Blackstone and the New York State Teachers Retirement System, which was represented by Cushman & Wakefield in the transaction.
High-Tech Hotel is Eco-Friendly Too
KCAL9 CBS2.com Video Library
July 17, 2008, 8:42 pm PT
The aloft Hotel features creature comforts needed by the iPod crowd and is now open in Rancho Cucamonga. (video link - aloft)
The John Buck Co. announces new office tenants at 155 North Wacker Drive
Illinois Real Estate Journal
June 27, 2008
The John Buck Co. announced that two units of Marsh & McLennan Cos. signed a lease to occupy 134,000 square feet of the forthcoming office development at 155 North Wacker Drive.
New hotel in Rancho Cucamonga, the aloft, offers hip, trendy lodgings
The Press Enterprise
June 23, 2008
It's not a typical hotel, and its not a typical destination to debut a new hotel concept, but a Chicago-based real estate firm picked Rancho Cucamonga anyway to build an aloft hotel, the hip and trendy business cousin of the W Hotel brand.
Michigan Ave. mall sold for $515 mil
Chicago Sun-Times
January 11, 2008
The John Buck Co. said Thursday it sold the Shops at North Bridge, a 680,000-square-foot retail complex at 520 N. Michigan, for $515 million.
Venture closes on purchase of Shops at North Bridge
Crain’sChicagoBusiness.com
January 10, 2008
A California real estate firm has partnered with an Alaskan state fund to buy the Nordstrom-anchored Shops at North Bridge.
Macerich arm buys property
Wall Street Journal
January 11, 2008
The operating arm of Macerich company and the Alaska Permanent Fund Corp. agreed to acquire a mixed-use development in Chicago from a partnership that includes The John Buck Company for $515 million.
Macerich, Alaska fund buy Chicago retail property
Reuters
January 11, 2008
An affiliate of mall owner Macerich Co said on Thursday it and a fund that manages oil revenue for the state of Alaska acquired a Chicago retail property from developer John Buck Company for $515 million.
More condos set for N. State St.
Chicago Tribune
December 16, 2007
A development group that includes The John Buck Company has secured City of Chicago approval to build a 36-story tower adjacent to the American Medical Association building on the 500 block of North State Street.
AHA Signs for 115,000 SF at New Wacker Tower
GlobeSt.com
December 11, 2007
Construction at 155 N. Wacker Dr. is expected to be complete in July 2009 on the more than 1.1-million-sf office tower being developed by The John Buck Co.
Hospital association to occupy 5 floors at 155 N. Wacker Drive
Chicago Tribune
December 5, 2007
The American Hospital Association has signed a long-term lease to take 115,000 square feet at 155 N. Wacker Drive, a new West Loop office tower being developed by The John Buck Co.
Demolition begins on $100 million development
Oak Brook Suburban Life
December 12, 2007
Demolition has begun to make way for the $100 million Oak Brook Clearwater project, near 22nd Street and York Road.
New Buck tower enticing to Marsh: Firm eyes lease of 320,000 square feet along North Wacker
Chicago Tribune
November 15, 2007
Marsh & McLennan Cos. has focused its search for new office space on a tower being built by the John Buck Company at 155 N. Wacker Drive, according to sources.
John Buck Partnership Sells Chicago Office
Real Estate Finance and Investment
October 12, 2007
Chicago developer John Buck Co. and McMorgan & Co. have sold 200 West Monroe in Chicago to GE Asset Management for around $113 million.
Buck leads rock show for San Miguel Schools
Crain’s Chicago Business
October 8, 2007
The John Buck Company sponsors a fundraiser at the Museum of Contemporary Art to benefit inner-city students at San Miguel Schools.
Trust eyes North Bridge buy: Michigan Avenue mall’s price tag put at $515 million
Chicago Tribune
October 4, 2007 Thursday
Retail real estate investment trust Macerich Co. is in negotiations to buy North Bridge Mall at 520 N. Michigan Ave., owned by a joint venture that includes The John Buck Company.
Sale of West Loop office building completed
Crain’s Chicago Business
October 2, 2007
The General Electric Corp. pension fund has completed the purchase of 200 W. Monroe Street, a 23-story tower in the West Loop.
City of Big Shoulders Craves Big Office Towers
National Real Estate Investor
October 1, 2007
Real estate deal making and development are unfolding all around Chicago on a grand scale…Who are the players currently in new office development in Chicago? The John Buck Co., based in Chicago, is constructing a 1.1 million sq. ft. tower, 46 stories tall, at 155 N. Wacker Drive due to deliver in July 2009. The law firm Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP is slated to take 200,000 sq. ft. as the anchor tenant.
Joint venture sells 200 W. Monroe in Chicago for $113 million
COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE DEAL NEWS
September 19, 2007
A joint venture between The John Buck Company and McMorgan & Co. has sold 200 W. Monroe, a downtown Chicago office building, for $113 million to GE Asset Management.
Buck pays cash for suburban office building
Chicago Real Estate Daily
September 12, 2007
The John Buck Company has purchased a small office tower in Elk Grove Village for more than $31 million. The transaction may offer an insight into how some real estate deals are getting done amid the turmoil in the commercial real estate mortgage market – by paying cash.
Town runs with big plan for race site; Shopping, fairground in Cicero proposal
Chicago Tribune
July 25, 2007 Wednesday
Sportsman’s Park will become an 89-acre island of retail stores, parks and an outdoor fairground, according to plans unveiled by Cicero. Officials unanimously approved a resolution at Tuesday’s board meeting that formally enters the town into negotiations with John Buck Co. to build what it calls Fountain Square Laramie Park at 3301 S. Laramie Ave.
Tower planned for site near AMA; Project to include hotel rooms, condos
Chicago Tribune
July 8, 2007
A residential project with 121 condominiums is planned for private land being used as a public green space just south of the American Medical Association headquarters.
The plan for a trapezoid-shaped, 36-story building with 259 hotel rooms and 121 condos is the third proposal for developers John Buck Co. and Royal Properties of Champaign.
Cool Springs to get new hotel
Nashville Business Journal
May 22, 2007 Tuesday
The John Buck Co. will break ground on a 143-room hotel within 30 days, according to Paul Novak, company spokesman. John Buck is buying the 2.7-acre site from D1 Sports Training along South Springs Drive.
Executives Speak Out
Commercial Property News Magazine
www.cponline.com
May 1, 2007
What are the thoughts of industry leaders on some of the biggest issues of the day? To find out, CPN regularly poses a question to insightful executives with expert views of the commercial real estate landscape. This month’s question: Under the new Congress, how favorable do you expect the commercial real estate tax climate to be?
Kent Swanson, CFO, The John Buck Co. There is no doubt that the coming presidential election will contrast two very different approaches to federal income taxes. Substantive changes in policy will be discussed in four major areas: capital gains tax rates, estate tax rates, alternative minimum tax changes and broadening the base…
Chicago projects win landscape awards
UBS Tower plaza, city’s ‘Green’ book net honors
Chicago Tribune
April 18, 2007
“Visually assertive” plaza for John Buck-developed UBS Tower at 1 North Wacker Drive wins prestigious design award of the American Society of Landscape Architects.
46-story building’s a go after tenant pledge
Chicago Sun-Times
March 10, 2007 Saturday
With a major tenant in hand, the John Buck Co. plans to start construction of a 46-story office building in the West Loop this summer. Buck said it has reached agreement with law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP to occupy 165,000 square feet at 155 N. Wacker. The building will be the third Buck has added to Wacker Drive in recent years.
‘Lifestyle centers’ looking to locals; Oak Brook retail spaces won’t have usual suspects
Crain’s Chicago Business
February 5, 2007
Three so-called “lifestyle centers”—open-air shopping plazas built to look like town squares—are going up within range of the sprawling Oakbrook Center mall in west suburban Oak Brook. The centers include Clearwater, a mixed-use John Buck Co. development on York Road.
Village Board OKs hotel, retail space
Chicago Tribune
January 25, 2007 Thursday
Developers of a proposed $120 million hotel/retail center cleared a hurdle when the Oak Brook Village Board agreed to modify zoning regulations on the property. Board members granted a special-use permit to The John Buck Co., which allows the Chicago-based developer to move forward on the 15-acre Clearwater development at York Road and 22nd Street.
Aloha Rancho Cucamonga!; “the new twist in travel” breaks ground in Rancho Cucamonga, California, for world’s first franchised aloft hotel
Business Wire
January 22, 2007
Aloha! Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. and its much-anticipated new lifestyle brand, aloft(sm) hotels, announced today the groundbreaking of the world’s first franchised alofthotel, aloftRancho Cucamonga.
The hotel is owned by a joint venture between The John Buck Company, a Chicago-based real estate firm, and Interstate Hotels & Resorts, one of the nation’s largest independent hotel management companies.
Interstate in new venture to build hotels
Washington Business Journal (Washington, D.C.)
January 17, 2007
Interstate Hotels & Resorts is partnering with a Chicago real estate firm to build a handful of aloft hotels over the next several years. Aloft is a trendy hotel brand introduced by Starwood Hotels & Resorts and similar in design to Starwood’s W Hotels brand.
Arlington-based Interstate, a hotel management company, has formed a joint venture with Chicago-based John Buck Co. to build up to 10 aloft hotels, with Interstate responsible for operating the properties and John Buck handling the site selection, construction and development.