Brewer Signs for One Floor at 303 E. Wacker

CHICAGO-Brewer Investment Group is moving into a full floor at the 28-story 303 E. Wacker tower in the East Loop. The wealth management firm is moving from more-cramped space at 200 S. Michigan, says the broker on the deal.

Mike Watts and Carey King with JF McKinney & Associates were joined by Richard Oliva and Tom Darcy with Hines in representing the building owner, Franklin Street Properties. Watts tells GlobeSt.com that the tenant will be able to spread out on the 25^th floor.  Laurence Lewis with Corporate Site Selectors Inc. represented Brewer.

The 840,000-square-foot building is about 76% leased, Watts says. Brewer will move into the vacant 24^th floor on a temporary basis while the improvements on the 25^th floor are ripped out and the space is made raw, he says.

Lead anchor in the building is KPMG, with about 280,000 square feet, and other tenants include Aecom, Interwoven, SAP Labs and News America Marketing. The asking rate is about $15-18 per square foot, net, Watts says. A joint venture of Hines and JP Morgan Fleming Asset Management sold the building to Franklin Street in 2007, though Hines continues to manage and lease the tower.

Watts says this type of deal activity has improved in the downtown office market, at least over last year when tenants put moves and expansions on hold. “That doesn’t mean the economics are ramping up,” he says, referring to the lack of job movement in the city. “But I’ve seen that businesses are on more solid footing and are willing to engage the market and make commitments. There’s been a lot of first steps, looking at buildings, this past quarter.”