The two developers overhauling the James R. Thompson Center and leading the way in reinvigorating the Loop have plans to transform the former Cboe Global Markets headquarters.
An affiliate of real estate firms Prime Group and Capri Investment Group purchased the vacant financial building at 400 S. La Salle St. in late June, Cook County property records show.
Under its joint venture Prime/Capri Interests, Prime and Capri Investment will bring a second tech-oriented project to the La Salle corridor with plans to convert the property into a data center, adding to Chicago’s growing reputation as a hub for such facilities.
“Chicago is emerging as one of the nation’s leading centers for technology and quantum computing and we believe the operation of a data center is the highest and best use for this empty building,” Prime Group’s chairman and CEO Mike Reschke said in an emailed statement.
Demand for data centers in Chicago has been surging. The vacancy rate for data centers in Chicago sat at just over 4% at the start of the year, according to real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield. In the latest swing toward the Chicago area, Texas-based Compass Datacenters kickstarted work at the former Sears headquarters in Hoffman Estates to create a data center on 197 acres.
Cushman & Wakefield ranked Chicago No. 7 on its 2024 list of the country’s top 10 established markets for data centers. The city is also ranked as the sixth largest market overall in the U.S.
Chicago is among the markets that have added a “large amount of capacity” for data centers over the past year, according to the report.
The La Salle Street building sold for $12 million. Property records show a venture of Cboe floated a $7 million loan for the acquisition.
The building is vacant but well-located, according to Reschke. The Sun-Times reported in April 2023 that Reschke was eyeing 400 S. La Salle with the intention of turning it — at least partially — into a data center. At the time, Cboe’s then-chairman Ed Tilly declined to comment on discussions with Reschke.
In September 2019, Cboe announced it would vacate its longtime headquarters on La Salle Street and planned to sell the building. It moved to the Old Post Office building, where it occupies about 185,000 square feet, and it built a new trading floor in the Chicago Board of Trade Building at 141 W. Jackson Blvd.
The 400 S. La Salle data center will mark Prime/Capri Interests’ second major tech project along La Salle Street. When redevelopment work on the Thompson Center is complete in 2026, Prime/Capri will sell it to Google as its new Chicago headquarters.
The developers are also teaming up to create 345 new apartments at 111 W. Monroe St., which is one of four projects that’s part of the city’s La Salle Street Reimagined program. Separately, Prime Group will convert four floors at 208 S. La Salle St. into more than 200 apartments.
“This project represents our continued commitment to invest in and revitalize downtown Chicago to maintain its position as the best city in the U.S. and a leading technology center with competitive resources,” Reschke said.