The renowned Jewelers Building at 35 E Wacker Drive in The Loop has been officially sold to two new owners. Sitting on the intersection with N Wabash Avenue along the Chicago River, the nearly 100-year-old structure could potentially see a partial conversion in the future. Its new owners are developers Prime Group and CRG according to Crain’s.

Before we cover the details of the sale, we will take a look back at the history of this local icon. One of the last Beaux-Arts style towers built after the influence of the 1893 World’s Fair, the building followed the trend of housing a mass of offices for a single industry, similar to the soon-to-be converted Millinery Mart Building next door.

Rising 40 stories and 502 feet tall, the terracotta-clad structure was one of the world’s tallest when it was completed in 1926. The building quickly became the crown jewel of Jewelers Row with its iconic vehicle elevator which led to a 23-story parking garage at its center. However soon after vehicle design changed, rendering the system obsolete.

Its four decorative towers along its setback house four water towers for the building’s fire protection, and its main street corner still boasts a six-ton clock donated by its past tenant Elgin National Watch Company. Most recently it has become the home of St. Louis-based Clayco and its design arm Lamar Johnson Collaborative, as well as real-estate arm CRG.

CRG partnered with Prime Group, who is working on other major projects like the Thompson Center, to purchase the 556,200-square-foot tower for $35.5 million. Nearly 80-percent leased, the team expressed the desire to grow Clayco’s footprint, as well as the potential of a hotel conversion for a few of the floors.

YIMBY first reported on the potential sale late last year. Now with the sale officially closing, the two firms can begin working on formal plans for the building’s future.

Find out more at Chicago YIMBY