CHICAGO—Alter Group officials never seem very worried about the 2015 departure of Google from 160,000-square-feet in its 20 West Kinzie building. They remain confident that the building's qualities and the extraordinary demand for River North offices will help fill that hole. And Chicago-based Alter has just signed up a new fine-dining restaurant for the 17-story, 385,000-square-foot building, increasing the chance that firms looking for space next year will continue to see it as a vibrant destination.
David Flom and Matt Moore, the proprietors behind the Chicago Cut Steakhouse in River North and The Local Chicago in the Gold Coast, will develop the restaurant, C Fish-House Chicago, their third venture. Chicago architect Mark Knauer of Knauer Inc., who designed local dining establishments such as Harry Caray's, Trattoria No. 10, Atwood Café and The Gage, will design the space.
“River North is really Chicago's only 24/7 neighborhood,” Matthew Ward, senior managing director of Newmark Grubb Knight Frank and exclusive leasing agent for 20 W. Kinzie, told GlobeSt.com, making it the most attractive submarket for the many firms seeking to attract younger workers. “It's more crowded at 8 o'clock at night than it is at 8 o'clock in the morning, and it's really the only neighborhood you can say that about.”
“Office and restaurant space is more coveted in River North than anywhere else in the city because it is the center of Chicago's dining, gallery, nightclub and shopping action,” added Richard Gatto, Alter's executive vice president. “Unlike newer markets like the West Loop, River North gives you a true city experience with its proximity to Michigan Ave., Millennium Park and the Gold Coast.”
Alter has made other recent progress in attracting much sought-after tenants. Early in the spring, the company signed Modest Inc., a firm recently founded by tech entrepreneurs Harper Reed and Dylan Richard, to an 11,000-square-foot lease, and Sittercity, an online child care provider, to 13,350-square-feet.
According to MB Real Estate, since the end of the recession, River North has seen its direct vacancy rate drop 730 bps from 16.4% to 9.1%.
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Brian J. Rogal
Brian J. Rogal is a Chicago-based freelance writer with years of experience as an investigative reporter and editor, most notably at The Chicago Reporter, where he concentrated on housing issues. He also has written extensively on alternative energy and the payments card industry for national trade publications.
