CHICAGO—The downtown office market continues to thrive, and the tendency of many CBD tenants to expand existing offices has been a key factor in the revival, according to officials from Colliers.
Weaver Boos, a full-service engineering consulting firm headquartered at 35 E. Wacker Dr., for example, just agreed to a 10,842-square-foot lease extension and expansion of its 12th floor space. Located in Chicago's East Loop submarket, 35 E. Wacker Drive is a 560,000-square-foot, 40-story class B office building originally constructed in 1926.
And Cabrera Capital, an investment banking and brokerage service headquartered at 10 S. LaSalle St. just signed a 10,949-square-foot lease extension and expansion for its 10th floor space. Located in the Central Loop, 10 S. LaSalle Street is a 733,000-square-foot class B office property constructed in 1986.
Thomas I. Volini, executive vice president; and Sven Sykes, executive vice president; both with Colliers' Chicago-based office advisory group, represented Weaver Boos and Cabrera Capital in these transactions. DUS Management represented landlord TDC Canada Corp. and Wacker GP, Inc. in the negotiations with Weaver Boos, while JF McKinney and Associates represented Madison LaSalle Partners, LLC, the owner of 10 S. LaSalle.
“Corporate expansions in the CBD have been on the rise in 2014,” says Volini. “This is a key indicator of the ongoing recovery in the CBD. Financial services and consulting companies, and the landlords of these companies, are benefiting from the growth in the economy.”
The vacancy rates in the East Loop and Central Loop now stand at 16.5% and 13.9%, respectively, according to Colliers' most recent downtown market report.
“With positive year-to-date net absorption, fundamentals tightening across the majority of submarkets and the economy continuing to show signs of a sustainable recovery,” the Colliers report says, “the CBD market appears well-positioned to carry on the positive momentum experienced during the first half of the year.”
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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.
