The company will occupy a portion of the 54th floor of the 60-story building now under construction in the Central Loop when it becomes ready for tenants this spring. The development has an estimated cost of more than $400 million.

"Pfingsten is currently located in the suburbs and made the business decision about 18 months ago to move downtown," Tom D'Arcy, SVP with Hines, tells GlobeSt.com. "They wanted to be in on one of the top high rise buildings in the city. There's very little space like this left in the city."

Pfingsten has signed on for space originally set to be taken by Stockbridge Capital Partners LLC. The California-based real estate investment firm signed a lease for the entire 25,000-square-foot 54th floor and later put it on the sublease market, D'Arcy says. "They were approached by someone who was interested in leasing the space, but wanted to do a direct deal," D'Arcy says. Hines bought out 15,000 square feet of Stockbridge's space and leased it back to Pfingsten for a 10-year term.

Asking lease rates in the building are around $33 per square foot, net, D'Arcy says. The office tower is now about 92% preleased, and D'Arcy says Hines has continued to see consistent activity and interest in the building despite the contracting economy. "We still have steady demand for space, as evident by Pfingsten," D'Arcy says.

Hines Interests acquired the 85,080-square-foot site for $32.5 million from a limited liability corporation controlled by Michael W. Reschke, former chairman of Prime Group Realty Trust. The 775-foot-tall building was designed by Pickard Chilton Architects and will offer more than 200 feet of frontage along the Chicago River, a three-story lobby, retail bank, restaurant, fitness center, conference center and riverfront plaza, according to a marketing brochure from Hines. Other amenities include an underground parking garage, enclosed bicycle storage room, and proximity to public transportation.