CHICAGO–Sterling Bay has already touched off an office renaissance on the Near West Side with its renovations of several underutilized buildings. And the developer has just landed the first tenant for its latest transformational project in the neighborhood. Skender Construction has decided to lease 30,000 square feet at Fulton West, located at 1330 W. Fulton. Skender joins Sterling Bay, which has leased a full floor for its new headquarters. Officials from both firms expect to move from their current locations in mid-2017.
Skender's lease represents a significant expansion from the 21,660 square feet it currently occupies at 200 W. Madison St. Firm executives cite the neighborhood, parking and building amenities as Fulton West's top attractions.
"The Fulton Market neighborhood is experiencing an exciting transformation," says Mark Skender, chief executive officer at Skender. "The large floor plates will accommodate our growth and ensure our culture to thrive as we continue to grow. Our employees are looking forward to enjoying all of the amenities the development and the neighborhood have to offer."
Sterling Bay has leased about 40,000 square feet. The firm will still house various operations in its current 28,000 square foot property at 1040 W. Randolph St. after the transition.
"Fulton West accommodates all of our prerequisites for office space – location, large floor plates, numerous amenities and outdoor space," says Sterling Bay managing principal Andy Gloor.
The information technology company WhittmanHart, which later became MarchFirst, originally began developing the site during the 1990s Internet boom. The company wanted to transform the neighborhood into a high-tech office hub, but the bursting of the dot.com bubble left an empty and unused four-story concrete structure on the site.
But Sterling Bay's tremendous success in attracting Google and others to its mammoth 1KFulton project at 1000 W. Fulton helped inspire the plan to transform yet another neighborhood building. The company acquired it in January 2014, along with a few other nearby office structures.
Construction on Fulton West will begin in early 2016. The developer will incorporate the partially built garage and foundation into a new nine-story office tower that will feature 38,000 to 40,000 square foot floor plates, green space, a rooftop deck, 610 parking spaces, shuttle service, a fitness center, indoor bike storage, generous bay spacing and high, exposed ceilings.
In addition to 1KFulton and Fulton West, in the last several years Sterling Bay has redeveloped other Near West Side properties such as 111 N. Canal and 400 S. Jefferson. And a mix of traditional and high-tech companies like Google, Twitter, GoGo, Hillshire Brands, SAP, IDEO and Uber have flocked to these renovated buildings.
Company officials say they expect to finish Fulton West by the second quarter of 2017.
"The project has been well received by the market – interest has been very strong," adds Gloor. "Based on current activity we expect to announce additional office leases in the near-term, as well as a restaurant tenant that caters to both white tablecloth and fast casual diners."
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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.
