Illinois Center Towers Face Nov. 12 Auction on $260M AmTrust Loan

Illinois Center, the two-tower, 2.1 million-square-foot office complex at 111 E. Wacker Drive and 233 N. Michigan Ave. in Chicago’s East Loop, is headed to a Nov. 12 foreclosure auction, Bisnow reported. An affiliate of AmTrust RE defaulted on the $260 million mortgage, which is held in a commercial mortgage-backed securities trust. Cook County Associate Judge Edward Robles ruled against the borrower in September, roughly two years after the foreclosure suit was filed.

Why it matters

The case is a judicial foreclosure, meaning the Cook County Chancery Division had to rule before a court-ordered sale could be scheduled, not a faster trustee sale as in non-judicial states. Special servicer LNR Partners is expected to bid at the auction, a signal the CMBS trust may end up taking the property rather than finding a third-party buyer. It is also the latest large downtown property to reach the auction block as owners struggle to refinance loans written at far higher valuations and occupancy. The Godfrey Hotel’s River North foreclosure sale, reported here, is part of the same lending reset.

The numbers

Illinois Center carried an appraised value of $66 million in the most recent assessment, down 22% from a 2024 appraisal and down 83% from the $390 million valuation when the loan was originated in 2015. AmTrust paid $376 million for two towers at the site that year in a sale from Equity Commonwealth, according to a 2015 Bisnow report. Occupancy stood at 33% as of year-end 2025, per servicer commentary cited by Bisnow, while East Loop office vacancy overall sits at 30.5% in NAI Hiffman’s third-quarter report.

What’s next

The court-ordered sale is scheduled for Nov. 12. If LNR Partners is the high bidder, as expected, the loan’s CMBS trust would take title and likely hold the towers for a future sale or redevelopment pitch rather than operate them long-term, a path that has become common in similarly underwater downtown filings. AmTrust RE has not said whether it will contest the ruling before the sale date.