CHICAGO-Options Clearing Corp., a derivatives clearing organization, has dropped from 70,000 square feet to 58,000 square feet at One N. Wacker Dr. The company recently signed a 10-year renewal lease at the 51-story West Loop tower, with the help of Jones Lang LaSalle.
Jack Keenan with JLL tells GlobeSt.com that the company had another four years on its lease, but wanted to drop space. “They needed to move some operations out of the city. The building was willing to take back some space in return for the renewal,” he says.
Keenan, who represented OCC with Rob Schmidt, says it was still a good deal for his tenant at the 9-year-old building. “It is one of the finer buildings in the city, with great amenities and close to transportation,” he says. The 1.4-million-square-foot tower, about 93% leased, includes anchor tenants such as UBS and PricewaterhouseCoopers. Tom D’Arcy and Tom Irvine represented owner Hines Interests.
The office market is getting healthier downtown, with sublease space being absorbed. More specifically, the large blocks of space in trophy properties are getting squeezed up, providing fuel for the idea of a new tower downtown, Keenan says, commenting on last week’s announcement that Trammell Crow and Insite want to build a one-million-square-foot office. “It’s still a good time to be a tenant, unless you’re a trophy-class tenant needing a large chunk of space,” he says. “The questions are, is someone willing to pay that type of rents, probably around $32 to $36 per square foot net; is a developer willing to put up 50% or more in equity, and then can you get financing when you’ll probably need to be at least 75% leased before construction?”
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