John Clark of Jones Lang LaSalle represented building owner Alliance Commercial Partners, while VP Craig Cassell of Grubb & Ellis' Office Group represented FMS in the deal, which will offer the firm additional space for training, accounting, human resources and other corporate functions.
"This is their headquarters and the company started there in 2000 with 1,000 square feet," Cassell tells GlobeSt.com. "They have grown exponentially in this location and it's important to them to keep their executives part of their core business in Chicago so that's what they're going to do. This is where they're going to have some of their training areas so it was important to keep those training areas next to where the executives and that part of their business were going to be."
Asking lease rates in the building are around $23 per square foot gross, but Cassell says FMS got a below market lease rate. The firm got tenant improvement dollars from the landlord as part of the lease.
"We did look at some other alternatives, and even though the costs were lower at some other buildings, it was hard to justify bifurcating operations and going in two buildings," Cassell says. "There were some synergies that being all together and in one place were good for us. They've added space because they've had to and it's been more reactive than proactive."
As reported last month by GlobeSt.com, the firm has also expanded with a new lease for a 28,000-square-foot office at 4021 Morsay Dr. As part of a government contract, the company plans to open a call center in the building and produce 350 new jobs in the next two years. The company is increasing its role as a federal contractor, and will use the new space to that end.
The property is located in the northwest suburban submarket. Occupancy in that submarket is around 74% and average asking lease rates are $21 per square foot, according to Cushman & Wakefield's mid-year office market report. "It's very, very challenging, and Grubb & Ellis forecasts that sublease and direct space will be close to a 30% vacancy rate by the end of the year," Cassell says.
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