CHICAGOBUSINESS.COM I June 3, 2024
Assessments prove Kaegi’s optimism
Samantha Lee is co-founder of Hopewell Brewing, which has developed a line of THC-infused drinks.
Newly released West Loop data offers clues about how the Cook County assessor sees the health of the office sector JOHN R. BOEHM
By Danny Ecker
Craft brewers say new hemp rules could threaten THC drinks Illinois beer makers recently dove into production of hemp-derived, THC-infused beverages and say sales are soaring | By Ally Marotti
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fter watching sales of their new THC-infused beverages explode in recent months, Illinois’ craft beer makers are worried proposed regulation could zap their newfound revenue stream. The state’s craft beer industry struggled following the pandemic. Ten percent of the state’s breweries permanently closed throughout 2022 and 2023, as taproom traffic failed to return to pre-pandemic norms and consumer drinking habits shifted away from craft beer. Survivors began looking to THC-infused drinks as a lifeline. See BREWERIES on Page 18
Illinois has about 280 craft breweries, and roughly 30 of them are selling THC-infused beverages.
Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi has issued the first batch of numbers showing what he thinks has happened to downtown office building values over the past three years. Like most of his previous work, the data isn't sitting well with landlords. A Crain's analysis of newly released assessments for more than two dozen prominent West Loop office buildings showed that recent valuations dropped by an average of just under 16% compared with Kaegi's final estimates in 2021, the last time his office assessed all of downtown. The figures from the reassessment of West Chicago Township — which includes a big chunk of downtown west of the Chicago River — signal Kaegi's broader opinion on how rising interest rates and weak demand for downtown
office and retail space have impacted property values. Those numbers ultimately play a key role in determining the property tax bills owners will be on the hook for next year. The West Loop dataset captures only a narrow slice of the central business district, with the rest of the city's urban core slated to be reassessed later this year. But the numbers are troubling for office owners, many of whom argue the value of their properties has fallen by far more than Kaegi suggests. The rise of remote work has pushed vacancy rates to an alltime high, and spikes in borrowing costs over the past two years have battered property values so severely that many aren't sure how they'll be able to pay off maturing debt. A wave of foreclosure lawsuits has already pushed the amount of distressed downtown office See KAEGI on Page 19
How Oberweis Dairy wound up in bankruptcy court The company made bad bets, then ran out of money to fix the mistakes By Ally Marotti
Over the course of a century and four generations, Oberweis Dairy grew from a horse-drawn milk delivery operation into a $116 million company with 40 ice cream shops, up to 1,500 employees and delivery routes in several states. But by October 2023, the company was losing money and shareholders were done watching it hemorrhage. After a failed attempt to sell itself late last year, the North Auro-
ra-based dairy maker filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in April. Court documents indicate the intent was to keep the company operational and sell it through the bankruptcy proceedings. On May 29, the investment arm of Winnetka-based private-equity firm Hoffmann Family of Cos. placed the winning bid for Oberweis Dairy in the company’s bankruptcy auction. It plans to keep the name of the storied dairy maker. The court must still ap-
prove the sale at a hearing scheduled for early June. Experts say despite consumers’ relatively newfound love of plantbased milk alternatives, it is still possible to make a profit selling milk and ice cream. And Oberweis, throughout its 109 years in the business, created a brand people associate with premium products in which the bidders still see value. But the company stretched See OBERWEIS on Page 17
Oberweis traces its roots to Aurora dairy farmer Peter Oberweis, who started selling milk to his neighbors out of his wagon in 1915. | OBERWEIS
VOL. 47, NO. 22 l COPYRIGHT 2024 CRAIN COMMUNICATIONS INC. l ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
POLITICS Shootings in Chicago are concentrated in the summer, yes. That’s only part of the story.
RESIDENTIAL REAL ESTATE Chicago-area home prices have doubled since 2000.
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