East Loop Amenities Now a Draw
And with cheaper rents, along with new amenities, buildings in the east can better compete with the West Loop.
CHICAGO—Seeking brand new, efficient work space, Kopon, Airdo LLC has signed a 13,343-square-foot, long-term lease at 111 E. Wacker Dr. in Chicago, and will move from Willis Tower this month. It’s far from the largest new lease in the CBD, but it does illustrate how much the East Loop submarket has changed.
“It’s incredibly unusual in today’s office environment to have a law firm go from west to east,” Tony Karmin of Colliers International tells GlobeSt.com. “There has been a huge exodus of law firms over the past 15 years out of the Central Loop,” but so far, it’s been mostly to West Loop or north of the Chicago River. Along with his Colliers’ colleagues Corby Marx and John Iglar, he represented the law firm.
But the transformation of the East Loop neighborhood made it an appealing option. “It now offers a broader, more cultural environment,” Karmin says, with its art museums, Michigan Ave. shopping, and all the green space and amenities found at Millennium Park. And the proliferation of such apartment communities as Lakeshore East also gives the “whole area a residential vibe.”
Firms with employees that commute via the Metra obviously would find an East Loop location a bit of a problem. But a zip code analysis of Kopon’s staff and attorneys showed an office to the east might actually work better. And their new space is the same distance from the main courthouses as a West Loop location. In fact, with an East Loop office, employees can walk to the courts underground all the way through the pedway system, a big plus in the winter. “One of the best-kept secrets in Chicago is the pedway system,” Karmin says.
And like many East Loop landlords, AmTrust, the owner of 111 E. Wacker Dr., has done a lot to make its property more competitive. It acquired the one million square foot building in 2015, and just completed a multi-million dollar capital campaign that refreshed the lobby, fitness center and conferencing facilities. It also improved access to its companion property at 233 North Michigan with the installation of multiple new intra-complex walkways.
But even with all the new amenities, companies moving to the East Loop may also find more affordable space. And the Colliers’ team was able to secure a package of concessions that will help Kopon create an efficient space that maximizes the property’s magnificent views of the river.
“The East Loop has been, and probably always will be, more aggressive in its rental structure,” Karmin says.