"We had one light industrial tenant that occupied most of the building, and when they moved out, we felt compelled to update the building cosmetically," Aaron Zaretsky, leasing director with building owner Urban Innovations, tells GlobeSt.com. "This building is our new vision of what loft buildings should be."

Zaretsky represented the owner in the lease. The property is close to public transportation and parking. The owner performed the renovations on the property, which included installation of a new elevator, 11- to 13-foot-high clear ceilings, a bike room and roof deck.

The brick and timber building's lower and ground levels offer a total of 26,200 square feet of retail, for asking lease rates ranging between $32 and $36 per square foot, net, Zaretsky says. The second through fourth floors offer a total of 39,300 square feet of office, for asking lease rates that range from $23 to $26 per square foot, gross, he says. IMS will relocate to its new office from its current space at 644 N. Orleans, also in the River North submarket.

"Accessibility in their current space was a little difficult and it was a little off the beaten path, in terms of employees walking there or getting off the train," says Ryan Foran, assistant VP with HSA Commercial Real Estate, who represented IMS in the lease. "It's a nice loft building with a good window-line right in the thick of River North, and right across from the Merchandise Mart. It's a hot area for design, architecture and marketing firms."