Clear Channel Takes 107,000 SF on Michigan Ave.

Clear Chanel renewed its lease for floors 27, 28 and part of 31. The extension includes the entire third floor, which will be utilized for Katz Communications. The other floors already house WGCI, WGRB, WKSC, WLIT, WNUA and WVAZ.

Studley's Richard Schuham, EVP, and Andrew Kelly, corporate managing director, both in the Chicago office, as well as Bruce Rothman, corporate managing director in New York, represented Clear Channel. Brian Whiting and Jack McKinney Jr. of J.F. McKinney & Associates represented landlord Parkway Properties Inc.

"This transaction is a great example of the market driven opportunities available to tenants that recognize the incredible cost-reducing environment that exists today," says Rothman, in a release about the deal. "Knowing that this is a prime time to re-evaluate one's real estate, with lower rents, increased availability and increased concessions, we approached Clear Channel regarding evaluating and retooling its occupancy strategy in Chicago."

The extension will improve Clear Channel's space-use efficiency by 16%. It also reduces its occupancy cost. Katz Communcations will move into the new space this coming February, from its current 40,000-square-foot space in the NBC Tower, 455 N. Cityfront Plaza Dr.

The lease terms of the deal were not disclosed, but average class A office space in the North Michigan area leases for $37.28 per square foot, according to Parkway Properties submarket data. The more than one-million-square-foot building at 233 N. Michigan Ave. is 91% leased. Construction completed in 1972 and Parkway Properties purchased it in 2001.