CHICAGO— It's still not known how the city's downtown market will handle all the new office space coming online, but one hopeful sign is that many tenants in the CBD are expanding right along with the economy. Such expansions will be the key to the market's future, as most firms also continue to seek ways to use office space more efficiently.
Euromonitor International LLC just provided a good example of that by signing a 36,023-square foot lease at 1 N. Dearborn St., increasing its office footprint by 56% in the city. The provider of strategic market research will move its North American headquarters from the Railway Exchange Building at 224 S. Michigan Ave. in October 2018.
“The company is shrinking its footprint on a per person basis, but it is significantly growing its headcount,” Corby Marx, a senior vice president of Colliers International I Chicago, tells GlobeSt.com. Along with Tony Karmin, principal, he represented the firm in the transaction.
The first challenge for Colliers was to find a space that would allow Euromonitor to expand while providing an office environment similar to the one in the historic Railway Exchange. They searched all of the downtown submarkets, but focused on historic, retrofitted properties with large floor plates. And 1 N. Dearborn checked all the boxes.
Beacon Capital Partners bought the building in October 2015 and has completed a total overhaul of the turn of the century Holabird and Roche designed property. In keeping with today's tenant demands, the firm added a state-of-the-art fitness center, an indoor lounge that doubles as private event space, and the outdoor deck.
“It is a great blend of modern amenities and a historic feel,” Marx says. Euromonitor's new space on the 17th floor features skylights and direct access to the rooftop deck as well as now defunct chimneys that, once refurbished, will serve as the foundation for new creative uses such as a library or rock-climbing walls.
“Euromonitor has been growing steadily here in Chicago,” Marx adds. “We're elated that we could take advantage of a unique position in an otherwise tight market to find a space that could accommodate the current team but also allow long-term flexibility. Plus we know that employees will be positively affected by the one-of-a-kind office.”
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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.
