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“This could be seen as a bellwether for the value destruction in the urban office market nationally." California Street was worth $300 million four years ago. It might sell for 80% less now, brokers say, in a market where office vacancy rates have soared. SIGN UP HERE FOR FREE WIREPOINTS DAILY NEWSLETTER
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Audio and summary Why the Holdup Using Artificial Intelligence to Cut Illinois Government Costs? – Wirepoints
May 19, 2026
10 Comments
A largely unasked question is becoming glaring: Is Illinois doing all it should to use artificial intelligence to make government cost less and work better? So far, the evidence says no.
Note to readers from Mark Glennon re: Ukraine
May 6, 2026
4 Comments
Everybody needs a side hustle these days, and mine is Ukraine, where I am now.
Wirepoints’ Mark Glennon on AM560’s Morning Answer – Chicago’s struggling commercial real estate and more
April 22, 2026
5 Comments
Summary and audio linked here.
Audio and summary
A San Francisco office building was worth $300 million before the pandemic. Now, it could sell for only $60 million — a perfect example of why downtowns are in trouble
A San Francisco office building was worth $300 million before the pandemic. Now, it could sell for only $60 million — a perfect example of why downtowns are in trouble (msn.com)
Gateway pundit has it was valued at 300 million in 2019, who was the president than? They must have been really optimistic about the future, where did all the optimism go?
That president from 2019 has his second most valuable piece of real estate in downtown San Francisco. Valued at about $1.5 billion in 2019 and refinanced in 2021 with a valuation of $1.8 billion. His stake is 30%. Wonder what the value of the building is today?
The immutable laws of economics will have their say.
Well in Detroit they blew up the JL Hudsons building with dynamite. To watch that demolition was a real blast!
It’d be cool to see the Aon Building blown up like that…!!!
Poor old JL Hudson’s – that store was the very first in the US to be air – conditioned back in IIRC the 20’s – how the mighty have “fallen”….
“In 1954, Hudson’s had sales of more than $163 million (an astronomical $1.28 billion today)…
“The building was demolished in a controlled demolition on October 24, 1998, and at the time it was the tallest building ever imploded…”
Just watched a few videos of the demo – wow! Whomever set those charges knew what they were doing.
Wonder how long it took to remove the debris and what it did to air quality and for how long.
Interesting stuff I learn here on Wirepoints!
Pat, you just reading my posts. I’ll give you the wisdom of years that I picked up in Detroit and you’ll soon experience in Chicagoland.
They’ll be looking for major property tax breaks to add insult to injury.
Downtown is now Deadtown.
The New high rise will be the crime rate.
San Francisco is the model that was chosen for Chicago.
Absolutely, by the “good” liberal.
This collapse of commercial property values is most like entirely planned by the elite. Create chaos in all the major cities by not enforcing any laws for criminal behavior thereby causing the middle class to move out. Once they move out law and order will be restored quickly by either the military or local police force (maybe with orders like shoot to kill) and commercial properties will be bought for 10 cents on the dollar thus making the super wealthy even richer. With law and order restored many may move back or so they hope. Simply put now there is… Read more »
Chicago has a lot more office space – especially older undesirable office space — that will be increasingly vacant — once the second Biden-Harris recession touches off a wave of commercial foreclosures
The possibility of abandoned properties and tear downs downtown is real. Some may not generate enough income to cover property taxes and essential maintenance.
The older class C buildings will likely be abandoned and boarded up in the next 10 years as leases expire and tenants relocate. Not sure the owners will even bother the expense to tear them down. Tearing down an brick office tower is not cheap. There’s no alternative use for many of those older Class C buildings, with slow elevators, 1920’s lobbies, no amenities, archaic floor plan configurations and bathroom layouts. I used to work in one building designed in the 20’s where the men’s bathrooms were on every floor but women’s were on every other floor – because in… Read more »
Yeah, I used to work for a non – profit at 29 East Madison, same old batrhoom layout – and *tiny* bathrooms at that. There were many small businesses/orgs in that building, the place I worked for has basically vacated, has to be the same for others…
BTW when the 2020 “Summer of Love BLM” riots began, one of the very first places to be trashed on that night was the 7 – 11 in that building’s lobby… now closed!
Class C king Marc Realty, which I believe owns 29 E Madison, is probably in a world of hurt right now…
Read this article earlier this morning in the WSJ and was thinking about Chicago the entire time.