Blue Chip Heads to River North

CHICAGO—Firms like Google, Motorola Mobility and Gogo Inc. have generated a lot of headlines by migrating from the suburbs into the CBD. But a significant part of the leasing activity downtown has also come from suburban firms that decide to open satellite offices. Northbrook-based Blue Chip Marketing Worldwide, for example, has just leased a new “plug-and-play” office located on the fifth floor of 10 W. Hubbard St. in River North.

“We’re in marketing and advertising and that is always looked at as a young, more urban profession,” Stanton Kawer, chief executive officer of Blue Chip, tells GlobeSt.com. In fact, about 60% of the company’s workforce now lives in Chicago. And although the new 5,000-square-foot space can only host about 25 workers at a time, through an online lottery all 160 employees will get the chance to enjoy a shorter commutes and urban amenities about twice a week.