Will it still be called the Sears Tower?

As reported by Crain's Chicago Business and the Chicago Tribune, New York-based MetLife is selling the Sears Tower to an unidentified buyer for $835 million, or approximately $240 per square foot.


Sears Tower during an air show,
Photo from Chicago Tribune

Not surprisingly, since September 11, 2001, the building and its manager Trizec Properties (who MetLife took control of the building from last August) have had difficulty keeping tenants in the 110-story skyscraper, the tallest in the United States, designed by SOM and completed in 1976. According to Trizec's Tower web site, approximately 400,000+ s.f. of rentable space is available, or 11% vacant.

Around 1990 Sears moved its merchandise operations from the Sears Tower to a new suburban location in Hoffman Estates, about 35 miles from downtown Chicago. I remember the announcement of the move and about my only concern was, "Will it still be called the Sears Tower?" Of course it still is and probably will be for a while, regardless of who owns the building. Its undisputed status as tallest U.S. building and disputed status as tallest building in the world keep its instant name recognition above any marketing (the typical reason for naming a building after the owner) that might be attained by renaming the building.