CHICAGO—The health of the downtown office market continues to improve as more companies from outlying areas discover the amenities and conveniences available in the CBD. As reported in GlobeSt.com, Newark element14, an electronics and engineering firm, just this week became the latest company to make the move after spending 34 years in Ravenswood on the North Side. And Tom Hudak, the president of sales and marketing tells us that the new 65,000-square-foot space on the 22nd and 23rd floors in 300 S. Riverside Plaza will transform how Newark's 350 employees work together.
“We've got everybody in here comfortably,” he says. “But the large floor plate means we can have 50,000-square-feet on one floor, and from a collaborative standpoint and our ability to solve problems for our customers, having almost everybody on one floor is a strategic advantage.” In Ravenswood, the company owned a building with 135,000-square-feet, but although it was cheap, it also had several floors and “was like a honeycomb; there were people in the building that you didn't see for weeks.”
“Our new lease is a 12-year deal and it's a big commitment,” he admits, and will cost about $24 million. But the West Loop location sits just one block from Union Station and Hudak expects that factor to pay other dividends. “We really consider ourselves a technology company and we want to attract the best people,” and the convenience should help recruit the many millennials that prefer a downtown lifestyle. Furthermore, roughly 70% to 80% of current employees commute into the city and the trip up to the company's cheap digs in Ravenswood took “an hour-plus and two train rides.”
The move has transformed the working environment in other ways. Newark hired Solomon Cordwell Buenz, a Chicago-based architecture firm, to transform the space into a collaborative environment. “It's gorgeous,” says Hudak. “All of the senior managers are in the middle of the building; all the light comes in for our associates who are around the perimeter, and they love it.” Many of the spaces look right down on the Chicago River, a big improvement over the honeycombed offices in Ravenswood.
“We invested in a nice canteen area which has the best views in the building,” part of about $6 million in tenant improvements. Newark was aided by an EDGE tax credit, a state incentive meant to encourage companies to locate or expand in Illinois, which will bring about $800,000 in benefits over 10 years. “We've opened up lots of areas for collaboration,” and also included about 18 conference rooms and other spaces for small groups or individuals that need privacy.
“It brings a real jolt of energy,” he adds, not just to employees, but to the suppliers and customers who visit the new space for the first time. “We thought it was essential to invest in the company. And it helps for people to see us double down on our commitment to it and the city.”
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Brian J. Rogal
Brian J. Rogal is a Chicago-based freelance writer with years of experience as an investigative reporter and editor, most notably at The Chicago Reporter, where he concentrated on housing issues. He also has written extensively on alternative energy and the payments card industry for national trade publications.
