Tishman Speyer Secures $340M Loan to Refinance The Franklin in Chicago

Tishman Speyer has refinanced The Franklin, its 2.5 million-square-foot office complex in Chicago’s West Loop, with a $340 million loan led by JPMorgan Chase, retiring $300 million in existing debt on a property that is 84 percent leased.

Why it matters

Chicago office debt has been close to unfinanceable outside the newest towers, and The Franklin is not new construction, it is a two-tower complex Tishman has owned since 2004. Occupancy alone did not sell this deal. Nearly half the property’s base rent expires during the five-year loan term, and nine tenants hold termination options covering 40 percent of base rent, according to reporting on the CMBS offering backing the loan. Lenders underwrote leasing velocity instead, 460,000 square feet of new leases and extensions signed since June 2025, and a tenant roster anchored by five large occupiers responsible for 38.5 percent of base rent. That is the emerging office refi formula: trophy quality and a credible leasing pipeline substituting for the clean occupancy stack lenders used to demand before writing a nine-figure check on office.

The numbers

The $340 million package is a single-asset, single-borrower CMBS loan packaged as CHI 2026-FRKLN. JPMorgan Chase originated 60 percent, Bank of America 20 percent and Deutsche Bank affiliate German American Capital Corporation the remaining 20 percent. It carries a floating rate, a two-year initial term with three one-year extension options, and interest-only payments. Proceeds retire $300 million in existing debt and fund a $36.8 million landlord obligations reserve, with the balance covering closing costs. The Franklin spans a 60-story tower at 227 W. Monroe St. and a 34-story tower at 222 W. Adams St., anchored by Options Clearing Corp., Robert W. Baird, Amazon Web Services, Guggenheim Partners and The Trade Desk. KBRA assigned the deal’s senior classes preliminary AAA ratings.

What’s next

Watch the rollover, not the refinancing. With close to half the rent roll turning over inside the loan term, Tishman’s next 24 months of leasing will determine whether this underwriting looks prescient or premature. More at the Chicago hub.