The law firm of Cassiday Schade LLP, which has been a tenantsince 1998, renewed its lease of 62,863 sf at the building until2018, Goodman says. Cassiday Schade was represented in thetransaction by Goodman, executive vice president Rick Schuham andcorporate managing director Andrew Kelly, all with Studley. C.J.Dempsey, vice president of leasing with Equity Office PropertiesTrust, represented the ownership for the Civic Opera building,which was purchased by the Blackstone Group earlier this year fromlocally based EOP.

Studley had looked into the possibility of Cassiday relocatingto a different building in the West Loop, but the law firm decidedto renew its lease in the Civic Opera building because it receiveda competitive lease rate, rent concessions, a tenant improvementallowance and expansion rights, Goodman says. The firm will use thetenant improvement allowance to upgrade the space's common areas,such as the conference rooms and reception area, he says.

The Civic Opera building, which has 841,778 sf of rentablespace, is currently 95% leased, Goodman says. Cassiday is thelargest tenant in the building, which was constructed in 1929 andrenovated in 1995. The lease rate was not disclosed. The averagelease rate for the West Loop submarket is $28.53 per sf, accordingto Grubb & Ellis' first quarter market report.