CHICAGO—The East Loop has sometimes suffered in comparison with the hot neighborhoods of River North and the West Loop, but GlenStar Properties, LLC just signed a significant lease in the submarket with a sought-after tenant.
Punchkick Interactive, Inc., a mobile marketing expert, will occupy 23,401-square-feet at GlenStar's 55 East Monroe building. The fact that Punchkick was a River North firm could be a sign that amenities like Millennium Park and the growing popularity of the submarket as a residential neighborhood are attracting more office workers to this side of the CBD. The firm will make the move from 22 West Ontario St. later this year.
“Punchkick is representative of high growth potential technology tenants that landlords covet,” said GlenStar managing director Christian Domin, in a prepared statement. He was not available by press time, but GlobeSt.com will post an update on Monday. “As these newer firms mature they come to a point where additional resources, access to amenities and diverse transportation options become critical to sustaining operations and recruiting a talented work force.”
“The East Loop is a hot area for tech companies as evidenced by other notable tech deals recently signed in the submarket,” Domin added. “I think it just proves that today the East Loop has all the ingredients necessary – including proximity to top-rated educational institutions – to be successful in today's new economy.”
GlenStar and partner Walton Street Capital played their part in this transformation by embarking on the redevelopment of 55 East Monroe in 2005. The partners converted the top nine floors of the 1.6-million-square-foot property into luxury condominiums. The project, the largest partial conversion of an existing office building into luxury residential condominiums in Chicago history, was completed in 2013.
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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.
