CHICAGO—The Green Bay-based Associated Bank recently consolidated several Illinois offices from the Aon Center and other locations into a new West Loop headquarters on the top floors of 525 W. Monroe, and bank officials tell GlobeSt.com that the move was a way of sending a message to current and potential clients.

“It was message that we were deeply-rooted in Chicago and that we weren't just a number of loan producing offices that might be here today and gone tomorrow,” says Breck Hanson, the bank's executive vice president and head of commercial real estate. The bank consolidated five offices in four buildings including 190 N. LaSalle St., the Prudential Plaza, suburban Deerfield and two spaces in the Aon Center at 200 E. Randolph St.

Associated Bank now occupies about 35,000-square-feet on the 24th and 25th floors in the 904,000-square-foot West Loop tower. And Hanson believes the move has not only boosted the bank's Chicago reputation, but has also vastly improved life for its employees. Sixty-five percent of them, for example, have cut 50 to 60 minutes off their commute time, since their new workplace sits near the big commuter lines. But to get to the East Loop's Aon building, “people would walk, take the bus, or drive in as an alternative to taking the train, or they were forced to take a cab.”

And like many companies moving into new downtown space, Associated decided to shrink its footprint and go with a less traditional design. “The space itself is very open with a considerable amount of light,” Hanson adds. The new glassed-in offices were placed in the building's core, and the cubicles along the windows, allowing light to flow through the space and benefit the maximum number of employees. “It's a very transparent environment; I think the sunlight creates energy and encourages an openness.”

Each employee now has roughly 200-square-feet of space. The combined average at the five previous offices was about 350-square-feet. However, all the glass and light in the new office, which includes a two-story atrium penthouse space, “provides the impression of a greater amount of space than perhaps there is.”

The bank moved in late August, but will hold a invitation-only grand opening for its commercial clients and prospective clients on October 30. Associated was represented in the lease negotiations by US Equities. The office's interior was designed by Interior Architects and the build-out was done by Morgan-Harbour Construction LLC.