Lululemon Signs 12,000-Square-Foot Lease on Chicago's Magnificent Mile

The athleisure retailer took space at Tribune Tower as it scales back U.S. expansion to 35 net new stores this year.

By the Family Office Real Estate Daily Desk·Monday, October 5, 2026·2 min read

Editorial summary of reporting byBisnow Our editorial standards →

The answer · checked against Bisnow

What are the details of Lululemon's new lease on Chicago's Magnificent Mile?

Lululemon signed a lease for approximately 12,000 square feet at Tribune Tower on Chicago's Magnificent Mile, at the corner of North Michigan Avenue and East Illinois Street. The deal comes after interim co-CEO Meghan Frank said Lululemon plans a 'very measured' approach to store expansion, targeting a net 35 new stores this year. Lululemon already operates six other Chicago locations.

Key facts

Lululemon signed a lease for approximately 12,000 square feet at Tribune Tower on Chicago's Magnificent Mile, according to Crain's Chicago Business.
The Lululemon space at Tribune Tower is located at the corner of North Michigan Avenue and East Illinois Street.
Lululemon interim co-CEO Meghan Frank said on an earnings call that Lululemon plans to take a 'very measured' approach to store expansion.
Lululemon plans to open a net 35 new stores this year, according to interim co-CEO Meghan Frank.
Lululemon has six other Chicago locations in addition to the new Tribune Tower lease.
3650 Capital and Aquarian Real Estate Partners provided $72.3 million in financing for the acquisition of Randhurst Village, comprising a $45.6 million senior loan and a $26.7 million mezzanine loan.

Lululemon Signs 12,000-Square-Foot Lease on Chicago's Magnificent Mile — Image: editorial illustration · Story sourced from Bisnow

Lululemon signed a lease for about 12,000 square feet at the Tribune Tower on the Magnificent Mile at the corner of North Michigan Avenue and East Illinois Street, Crain's Chicago Business reported. The athleisure retailer already operates six other Chicago locations.

The lease came weeks after the company announced plans to scale back its U.S. expansion. Interim co-CEO Meghan Frank said on an earnings call earlier this month that Lululemon plans to take a very measured approach to store expansion. The company plans to open a net 35 new stores this year.

Elsewhere on the Mag Mile, Stream Realty Partners signed more than 100,000 square feet of leases at the Wrigley Building, including both new deals and renewals. Perkins&Will renewed its 48,000-square-foot lease through 2038. Oil-Dri signed a new 15-year lease for about 20,000 square feet. Stream vice presidents Erica Marshall and Katie Hull represent Mansueto Office in leasing at the property.

In the multifamily sector, an affiliate of Equus Capital Partners purchased Ashford at Geneva, a 226-unit apartment community in Geneva, for an undisclosed sum. The affiliate acquired the property on behalf of a programmatic joint venture with a U.S.-based public pension plan. Ashford was approximately 97 percent occupied at the time of sale.

HMS Apartments paid $24.3 million for Lakeside Village Apartments, a 155-unit, garden-style apartment community in Mundelein. The property includes 25 studios, 96 one-bedroom units and 34 two-bedroom units. Essex Realty Group's Brian Karmowski and Anthony Citriglia represented both the seller, Bear Peak Capital, and HMS Apartments in the deal.

In industrial, Transwestern Investments acquired 320 Overland Drive, a 408,000-square-foot industrial facility in the I-88 Corridor, on behalf of a separate account. Built in 2023, the fully leased property features a cross-dock configuration, 36-foot clear heights, 55 dock doors, four drive-in doors and dedicated car and trailer parking.

Darwin Investment Group completed a $130 million refinancing of a 39-building industrial portfolio totaling more than 2 million square feet across the Chicago area and Wisconsin. Wells Fargo Commercial Banking's middle market real estate team provided the financing. Darwin Investment Group's George Cibula and Matthew Lewandowski acquired the 49 percent ownership interest held by their partners as part of the financing, bringing their ownership of the portfolio to 100 percent.

The Deployment Angle

Family Office Real Estate Daily Desk · our analysis, not the source's

The Lululemon lease reflects a bifurcated retail market where blue-chip tenants still pay for legacy addresses even as they slow national rollouts. For family offices, that creates a window to back landlords with stabilized Mag Mile assets at lower basis than pre-pandemic — but only if those assets can attract creditworthy tenants willing to sign long paper.

The Equus multifamily deal shows programmatic joint ventures with pensions remain a viable route for family offices seeking scale and fee mitigation. Ashford at Geneva traded at 97 percent occupancy, which suggests the pension co-investor priced for current income rather than lease-up risk. A family office co-GP structure alongside Equus would have delivered similar downside protection with lower fees than an LP commitment to a commingled fund.

The Darwin refinancing is instructive for families holding legacy industrial. Darwin bought out its partner and completed a $130 million refi on a 2-million-square-foot portfolio, which implies roughly $65 per square foot of loan proceeds. If the portfolio carries higher occupancy and long-weighted average lease terms, that level of leverage suggests debt service coverage above 1.4 times — a cushion worth modeling for families considering similar recap transactions to take out equity or buy out co-investors.

The Transwestern separate-account acquisition of a fully leased, 2023-vintage industrial property with 36-foot clears and cross-dock configuration is a template for direct ownership. A family office with $50 million to $100 million of industrial allocation can replicate that structure by hiring an operating partner on a fee-for-service basis rather than paying promote to a fund manager. The key is ensuring the partner has tenant relationships in the I-88 Corridor and can source off-market deals before they reach the institutional bid.

Questions this story answers

01Where exactly is Lululemon opening its new Chicago Magnificent Mile location?

Lululemon is set to take approximately 12,000 square feet at Tribune Tower, located at the corner of North Michigan Avenue and East Illinois Street on Chicago's Magnificent Mile, according to Crain's Chicago Business.

02Is Lululemon slowing down its U.S. store expansion in 2025 or 2026?

Lululemon interim co-CEO Meghan Frank said on an earnings call that the company plans to take a 'very measured' approach to store expansion and intends to open a net 35 new stores this year.

03How was the Randhurst Village acquisition financed and what did it sell for?

Rhino Investments Group acquired Randhurst Village, a 932,000-square-foot property in Mount Prospect, from DLC Management for $95 million. The acquisition was financed with $72.3 million provided by 3650 Capital and Aquarian Real Estate Partners, comprising a $45.6 million senior loan and a $26.7 million mezzanine loan.

04What industrial refinancing deals closed recently in the Chicago area?

Darwin Investment Group completed a $130 million refinancing of a 39-building industrial portfolio totaling more than 2 million square feet across the Chicago area and Wisconsin. Wells Fargo Commercial Banking's middle market real estate team provided the financing. As part of the transaction, Darwin Investment Group's George Cibula and Matthew Lewandowski acquired the 49% ownership interest held by their partners, bringing their ownership to 100%.

05What leasing activity is happening at the Wrigley Building in Chicago?

Stream Realty Partners inked more than 100,000 square feet of leases at the Wrigley Building, including new deals and renewals. Perkins&Will renewed its 48,000-square-foot lease through 2038, and Oil-Dri signed a new 15-year lease for approximately 20,000 square feet. Stream Vice Presidents Erica Marshall and Katie Hull represent Mansueto Office in leasing at the property.

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Original reporting

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