CHICAGO—The presence of Google in buildings just north of the Chicago River has boosted the area's reputation as a tech hub. But the giant company has decided to vacate the space it rents at 20 W. Kinzie and move into the Fulton Market Cold Storage Building at 1000 W. Fulton St. in the West Loop, and The Alter Group has hired Chicago-based MB Real Estate Services, Inc. to find a replacement for the eventual vacancy of about 150,000-square-feet.

MBRE's Gary Denenberg, executive vice president/managing director; Mark Buth, executive vice president/managing director; and Kathleen Bertrand, vice president, will lead the leasing efforts for the property.

The firms have plenty of time to work it out. Google will not vacant their space in the 17-story, 385,000-square-foot class A office building until the end of 2015, says Matthew Ward, senior vice president of Alter. The building is currently “99% leased,” he adds, and in addition to Google, it has the Michelin-rated Keefer's Restaurant.

“It's a great building right in the middle of River North, and that's the hottest submarket in the city.” Ward thinks one or two tenants could fill the space, especially since it features large floor plates of about 24,000-square-feet. “For blue-chip and entrepreneurial firms, 20 W. Kinzie offers a first-class image with prominent signage on two of Chicago's premier streets, and building naming opportunities.”

Although it would seem natural for a company or companies in the tech field to take over the space, Ward says they will also be on the lookout for anyone that wants the cachet of a River North location. Google officials chose the building in the first place, he points out, because they could fashion it into the open, collegial environment now so favored by cutting-edge companies.

“Any company that says, 'we should be doing that,' well, this building is perfectly suited for a collaborative work environment.” Aside form the large floor plates, it also lends itself to having “smaller communal places where people can catch up and bounce ideas off each other.” He expects a host of business types including investment firms, sports marketing companies, advertising agencies and generally, any group involved in creative work, to express interest in replacing Google. “It's a unique space and it's going to be highly coveted.”

Instant Insights /

Alter Starts Looking to Replace Google

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