With Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw; the Hyatt Corp. and a financial services company taking a combined 1 million sf, about two-thirds of the $400-million building at the northeast corner of Wacker Drive and Monroe Street is now pre-leased, says Penny Pritzker, whose family's holdings include the hotel company. Although Pritzker declined to identify the company, the third tenant reportedly is Goldman Sachs & Co.

Picking up business and employees as a result of Andersen's demise, Deloitte & Touche LLP has agreed to take 424,000 sf at The John Buck Co.'s 111 S. Wacker Dr.

Deloitte & Touche LLP will leave Two Prudential Plaza and Aon Center on East Randolph Street in favor of the 50-story, 975,000-sf building designed by Lohan Caprile Goettsch Architects. Bovis Lend Lease is the general contractor. Both were involved with UBS Tower at 1 N. Wacker Dr.

Both developers say the current office vacancy slump, which has hit the once-hot West Loop, are not major issues in leasing the rest of the space.

"I think the issue that's driving the building is that the three tenants all needed large spaces," Penny Pritzker tells GlobeSt.com. "The building is in the best location with efficient space."

Being built on a former parking lot across the street from the Mercantile Exchange towers, Pritzker's company's tower is within two blocks of Chicago's two major Metra commuter rail terminals.

Says John Buck Co. principal John O'Donnell in a statement, "The speed at which UBS Tower was leased-up strengthens our belief that there is a continued demand for A+ buildings in this superior Wacker Drive location."

UBS Tower opened this year and already is on the market.

Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw is headquartered at 190 S. LaSalle St. Pritzker says the first tenants are expected to take occupancy in December 2004.

Instant Insights /

Wacker Drive Projects Buoyed by 1.4M SF in Deals

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