CHICAGO—The high vacancy rate for office space in much of suburban Chicago sometimes masks the portions of the region that remain healthy. Oak Brook, an office center on the eastern side of the East-West Corridor submarket, for example, continues to attract companies that want suburban prices without having to occupy the type of obsolete structures seen in many suburban towns.

Middough Inc., an international engineering services company, for example, has just signed an early extension of their existing lease, originally set to expire in 2018, for 68,748-square-feet at 700 Commerce Dr. in Oak Brook, but only after taking a good look around the immediate area.

“They weren't willing to veer too far west, but they were willing to take a look at space in Downers Grove and Lombard,” says Robert Sevim, executive managing director of Studley's Chicago office. He represented Middough in this transaction and Jeff Mann of CBRE represented the landlord, Principal Financial. The 214,065-square-foot building was completed in 2000, and Middough, the largest tenant, first moved in six years ago.