A North Avenue retail and medical office building is scheduled for auction next month, with experts expecting a dramatic drop-off in value from its $89M 2004 purchase price.

939 W. North Ave.

Sources close to the deal said they anticipate the North Avenue Collection at 939 W. North Ave. in the Clybourn Corridor district will sell for about $20M, or less than a quarter of the value Iowa-based Principal Financial Group paid for it two decades ago, Crain’s Chicago Business reports.

CBRE and auction house Ten-X will sell the property at an auction scheduled for Feb. 20-22. The opening bid is $5.5M, according to Crain’s.

The retail section of the building is largely vacant, with tenants renting out just 15% of the 95K SF. The other 104K SF, made up of medical office and fitness space, is 88% occupied. The property listing also includes a parking structure with 350 spots. 

The overall vacancy rate in Clybourn Corridor was slightly less than 14% at the end of 2022, Crain’s reported. It is performing markedly better than other struggling shopping districts, like the Magnificent Mile and State Street, which both had vacancy rates closer to 30%.

The mixed-use property won’t be the first one sold this year. On Tuesday, Crain’s reported that a local investor bought a five-story office and retail building at 100-112 S. State St. for an undisclosed sum.

North American Real Estate bought the State Street building for less than the $35M the seller paid for it in 2015 and also owns the adjacent property at 114 S. State St., the outlet reported. Owning both properties allows the firm to control the corner and expand its footprint in the area, NARE principal Savas Er told Crain’s.