Serot and Todd Lippman, EVP, represented AlixPartners in thelease transaction. J.F. McKinney & Associates representedChicago-based developer Hines. The Chicago office of AlixPartnershas been leasing 18,000 sf at 181 W. Madison since 2003. The firm'sChicago office has grown nearly 40% since then and currently has 82people, AlixPartners' managing director Bruce Denuyl said in astatement regarding the lease. "We've gone from being a firm withonly three offices in the US with revenues of less than $80 millionjust seven years ago, to a global organization with 13 officesacross North America, Europe and Asia and with revenues in excessof $500 million, Denuyl said.

AlixPartners chose to relocate at the building being developedby Hines for a variety of reasons, including the fact that theycould not easily expand at 181 W. Madison, Serot says. "They didnot have the option to expand on two contiguous floors," he says."They would have to be on two non-contiguous floors." The firmchose 300 N. LaSalle because of the river views, newly constructedspace, the "comparable rents" to existing buildings and "the timingof delivery," Serot tells GlobeSt.com. The tower under constructionat 300 N. LaSalle is the first of several buildings that will comeonline in 2009. The Chicago office of AlixPartners will move intoits new space in March.

The 60-story, 775-feet tall building, which was designed byPickard Chilton Architects, will have 25,000-sf floor plates. Thebuilding, which will have more than 200 feet of frontage along theChicago River, will have a three-story lobby, retail bank, sundryshop, white tablecloth restaurant, fitness center, conferencecenter and riverfront plaza, according to a marketing brochure fromHines. Other amenities include an underground parking garage,enclosed bicycle storage room and pedestrian access to publictransportation.