CHICAGO-Another new office tower has been proposed for the downtown, this time by the locally-based Alter Group. The 20-story West Loop building at 625 W. Adams, with no tenant selected yet, is slated to be about 500,000 square feet and cost up to $150 million.

The news follows the announcement of a one-million-square-foot tower planned by a joint venture of Trammell Crow and Insite on Wacker Drive. The companies are responding to the current lack of large blocks of class A, trophy office space in the city. The handful of new building plans now being discussed are mostly near the transportation hubs of the main Chicago Transportation Authority and Metra train stations, both in the West Loop area.

Matthew Ward, SVP with Alter, said the company’s tower has a better chance of gaining a filling tenant, and therefore acquiring the required financing to get the property constructed. “We only need to gain enough to fill 60% to 70% of the building, which will be easier to attain than a one-million-square-foot tower. Also, our rent will be in the mid-to-high $20 range, compared to the mid-$30 range that larger towers will need,” Ward tells GlobeSt.com.

He acknowledged that financing is difficult to attain, but said there’s a couple groups that are in discussions about the tower. Tenants are also expressing interest, Ward says. “The downtown leasing in Chicago is relatively healthy, and it is a 24-7 city with a high quality of life. We believe this has a good chance of getting built.”

Rumors have abounded of various groups planning new office towers, but the first shot was fired by the Trammell-Insite venture for 301 S. Wacker. This project also needs tenants and financing.