Trump struggles to fill Chicago tower retail space

A yearslong effort by GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump to rent retail space at the base of Trump's namesake tower in Chicago has struggled to find success, according to an assessment by Chicago Sun-Times Washington bureau chief Lynn Sweet.

Trump International Hotel and Tower is a gleaming 92-story glass building at 401 N. Wabash Ave., along the Chicago River and just west of Michigan Avenue. Giant letters spell out Trump's name on the riverfront side of the building, which includes a hotel, condominiums and parking as well as the retail space.

But about 70,000 square feet of space on the terrace and riverwalk levels has never been rented since the building opened in 2008, leaving millions of rent dollars on the table.

A legal brief filed with the Cook County Assessor by the law firm Trump's organization hired to seek a property tax break describes the shortcomings of the tower's commercial and retail space.

In May, the Sun-Times' Chris Fusco and Tim Novak reported on how Trump and his investors were able to cut millions of dollars from their property tax bills with appeals sought by Klafter & Burke, the law firm run of influential Alderman Ed Burke.

One of the legal briefs included in those appeals describes the empty commercial/retail space as "unleasable" with details on its shortcomings.

"There are no direct or easy ways to reach the space from Michigan Avenue. The space has remained vacant since the hotel opened in 2008, even though the hotel has used real estate brokers from several different firms from both Chicago and New York," the brief said.

In 2014, the real estate firm RKF was hired to market the property, but the space is "so detrimental" that no one wants it, even for offices, the brief states.

For more, check <URL destination="http://chicago.suntimes.com/news/sweet-trump-touts-biz-record-but-tower-retail-space-still-empty/">chicago.suntimes.com.