Tech Companies Helping Revive East Loop

CHICAGO—Tech companies have become one of the most sought-after office tenants by downtown landlords, and East Loop landlords in particular want firms from this burgeoning sector to help revive what has been an underperforming submarket. As reported in GlobeSt.com last Friday, GlenStar Properties, LLC just signed Punchkick Interactive, Inc. to 23,401-square-feet at the 55 East Monroe building, its first true high-tech tenant, and company officials say it’s just the beginning.

“Once you get a couple of these firms in your building, you validate yourself as an attractive place for others to locate,” GlenStar managing director Christian Domin tells GlobeSt.com, calling the Punchkick lease a “watershed deal.” To attract more high-tech to 55 E. Monroe, GlenStar has decided to add a host of amenities demanded by many of the younger workers that staff the high-tech world. The company has begun constructing, for example, a 4,000-square-foot bike room in the building.