CHICAGO—River North continues to be the CBD's hottest office market, and a huge chunk of new, modern space has just been taken. RXBAR has agreed to lease the entire 50,000 square foot office tower at 412 N. Wells St., a new project by Centrum Partners and Hubbard Street Group. The leading maker of protein bars, which was just acquired by Kellogg Co., will move from 225 W. Ohio St. to its new headquarters next spring.
“This lease caused a bit of a change in our plans,” John McLinden, Hubbard Street Group managing partner, tells GlobeSt.com. “We were going to take some of the space for ourselves,” but RXBAR, a four-year-old startup and powerhouse in the protein bar business, needed the space fast.
“They are the perfect tenant for this building and River North,” he adds. “They are young, energetic, and health-oriented.” The developers have already leased the ground-floor retail space to Brown Bag Seafood, a health-oriented seafood restaurant, and Joe & the Juice, an expanding Danish outlet that sells fresh juice.
Leasing the bulk of a new office building to just one tenant has advantages. “It's much simpler to manage,” McLinden says. Furthermore, “I'm a developer, and with three excellent tenants and a 100% occupied building, I can move on to another deal.”
The quick lease-up also illustrates just how tight things are in the submarket. “River North is short of product,” McLinden says, largely because “it's difficult to assemble the necessary land.” Centrum acquired this site, formerly a surface lot, from the CTA in October 2015. Adjacent to 412 N. Wells, Centrum and Hubbard are putting the finishing touches on HUBBARD221, a 23-story residential building. It will come online in November, and started leasing just a few weeks ago.
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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.
