William Blair, which has been located at 222 W. Adams St., since 1994, had signed a letter of intent late last summer to be the anchor tenant in the building, as previously reported by GlobeSt.com. The firm will occupy three-and-a-half floors of the low-rise portion of the 52-story building and 10 high-rise floors, Van Schaack says. The term of the "long-term" lease was not disclosed. Hines is in discussions with other possible tenants but no other leases have been signed at this point. "We are talking to a number of other big tenants," he says. The asking lease rate is about $50 per sf gross, Van Schaack confirms.

The building will also have approximately 15,000 sf of retail and restaurant space, Van Schaack says. Construction is expected to begin this fall and be completed in June 2011, he says. The tower was designed by Pickard Chilton Architects, based in New Haven, CT. The building will have curved glass and elliptical 25,000-sf floor plates. The project will have a 1.5-acre public park along the river, and a boutique hotel with approximately 200 rooms is planned to adjoin the tower. Van Schaack said they are not announcing at this time who will manage the tower. The joint venture expects to sell the hotel portion of the project, he says. Representatives from Hines had previously pegged the value of the hotel at about $65 million.