CHICAGO—MakeOffices, a national provider of co-working spaces for start-ups and other new economy companies, will on June 1 open its third and newest community in Chicago, this time at 541 N. Fairbanks in the Streeterville neighborhood.

Formerly known as the Time Life Building and now owned by Northwestern Medicine, the site is near the many advertising agencies, professional associations and healthcare institutions that saturate the area between N. Michigan Ave. and Lake Michigan north of the Chicago River. The 19,800-square-foot location will be the largest co-working space in the neighborhood.

“This is a very dense part of the city,” MakeOffices chief executive officer Raymond Rahbar tells GlobeSt.com. “It has a very large ecosystem of start-ups and small businesses and that is what we look for.” The firm has already opened sites in River North and at 1 N. State St. in the Central Loop, along with sites in its hometown of Washington, DC and in Philadelphia.

Its Streeterville community features 109 offices and 263 desks. It also offers its members a wide variety of environments including 6 call rooms, 4 conference rooms, a relaxation room, wellness room, and a social space for networking events that holds 20 seated or 40 standing. In addition, it can draw in the many affluent neighborhood residents that work from home but would prefer their own office space and the opportunity to network with like-minded professionals.

“Chicago has been the hottest city that we've ever started in,” Rahbar says. “River North has absolutely on fire.” MakeOffices now has between 250 and 275 members and expects another 75 to join between July and August. And “Streeterville has a pent-up demand for this type of business, and there is no real competition in that area.”

The communities offer month-to-month leases, office infrastructure and all-inclusive amenities, including WiFi and 24/7 access. Onsite refreshments for members include coffee, tea, fresh fruit, beer, and filtered water.

Most landlords seem to appreciate the energy and new blood co-working spaces bring to their buildings, he adds. It wasn't always this way. Many owners used to look on co-working as a competitor. And even today, “about 10% of landlords still haven't wrapped their heads around the new economy of co-working. About 75% are super-excited to have us in their buildings and compete to get us. Another 15% want to hear more and look on us as just another tenant.”

A recent survey done by DLA Piper came up with very similar numbers. The global law firm asked nearly 200 top real estate executives if they saw co-working or open-plan space providers as competitors to traditional office landlords. Only one in six agreed that these providers were the competition.

As of April 2016, MakeOffices had nine new sites under construction. In the next few years, Rahbar says, “we plan on doubling down on our three core cities.”

Instant Insights /

MakeOffices Opens Streeterville Site, its Third in Chicago

Related Stories

Recommended For You