CHICAGO-Accesso Partners LLC has just completed a 'pocket park' with seating for 50 between its 200 and 230 W. Monroe office towers, newly renamed Monroe Plaza. The company has begun the second phase of upgrades to the 1.2 million square foot property, and the new park is a good example of the kinds of amenities CBD landlords now use to attract discerning tenants.

The non-smoking park, also called Monroe Plaza, is just off the sidewalk and open to tenant employees and the public “to relax, meet, have lunch and perhaps collaborate on new ideas,” says Ariel Bentata, Accesso's co-founder and managing partner-investments. “We've been able to bring a 3000 square foot dead space between the buildings back to life, beautify a portion of West Monroe and make a contribution to the cityscape.”

“There is a lot of underutilized public space in Chicago,” says Michael M. Edwards, president and chief executive officer of Chicago Loop Alliance. “In fact, there are 2000 miles of alleys in the Loop, sometimes referred to as cow paths, spaces between buildings that were originally mandated by law for storing trash and the reason downtown Chicago looks so pristine today.”