Water Tower Place owner gives up property

A year after losing its retail anchor, Water Tower Place is losing an owner.

Brookfield Properties said Tuesday that it is turning over the vertical mall to its lender, a unit of New York-based insurer MetLife. The action indicates Brookfield believes the mall is worth less than an estimated $300 million in debt on the property.

It's another setback for a complex that once defined retail chic but whose fortunes were cut down when the pandemic forced prolonged shutdowns. Water Tower Place, 835 N. Michigan Ave., also suffered from shopper reactions to growing crime along the Magnificent Mile.

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