CHICAGO—The owners of 222 N. LaSalle in downtown Chicago have launched an effort to make the 26-story tower into a destination for technology, advertising, media and information companies. And they recently scored another success by signing online personal lending company Avant Credit to a long-term lease for about 78,794 square feet. The location will serve as the new home of Avant's corporate headquarters, currently in River North at 640 N. LaSalle, where the company occupies about 30,000 square feet.  

“Avant is exactly that type of company and we are delighted to welcome them to 222 North LaSalle as we continue to add new, exciting amenities at our building,” said Joe Gordon, managing director of Tishman Speyer. Avant was represented in the transaction by Brad Serot of CBRE, while Gordon and Tishman Speyer's Greg Tait represented building ownership. They could not provide additional details about the lease.

This is the second major tech-oriented tenant to recently choose 222 LaSalle. In March, One North Interactive, a downtown digital agency, decided to relocate its headquarters to more than 17,000 square feet on the 15th floor. One North has about 75 employees, but plans to expand its workforce to nearly double that number.

Avant and One North Interactive can take advantage of several new amenities and major capital improvements recently completed at the 938,300 square-foot property. The building is a historic redevelopment project that now features a 7,200 square-foot, state-of-the-art conference center and auditorium with capacity for 125 and an 8,000 square-foot tenant lounge, a valet parking garage, full service fitness center as well as two new restaurants on the main lobby - Prime & Provisions Restaurant and Glazed & Infused Donut Shop. Furthermore, the renovation has allowed the 1920's-era building to get a LEED Silver certification from the US Green Building Council, as well as ENERGY STAR certification.