CHICAGO—Sometimes small leases can mean a lot. RMB Capital, a Chicago-based investment advisory firm, has just agreed to lease an additional 5,800-square-feet at 115 S. LaSalle St., their headquarters since 2007. Although this new lease, which will bring RMB up to 23,000-square-feet, won't on its own make much of a dent in the CBD's overall vacancy statistics, it may be representative of a growing trend among downtown office users to expand existing leases.

“The local employment market is expected to expand through the end of the year and beyond,” according to a third quarter research report from Jones Lang LaSalle. “This progress along with other positive news such as the emerging high-tech industry will drive business growth in the near term and with that office employers will continue to hire and require additional space.”

“Since moving into the building, RMB has increased [assets under management] by 175% and has more than doubled their headcount—and they expect growth to accelerate,” remarks Rick Schuham, executive vice president of Studley, the real estate firm which has advised RMB since 2005. “We initially designed a lease that provided them ultimate flexibility in case they met or exceeded their business goals. Because they exceeded them, we were able to activate their flexibility options to address their needs—at least for the next few years. When they outgrow this space, we'll work with them to find the next solution.”