Transwestern is taking its Chicago operation straight to the top, literally, by consolidating its local offices into a single downtown flagship at 123 N. Wacker Drive. The commercial real estate firm has signed on for roughly 35,000 square feet across the tower’s penthouse, meaning the top three floors, pulling staff from a pair of Madison Street addresses at a moment when downtown landlords are hungry to tout fresh leasing wins.
Deal details
As reported by Crain's Chicago Business, Transwestern’s new lease at 123 N. Wacker covers about 35,000 square feet across the three highest floors in the building and consolidates space it had been splitting between 200 W. Madison and 181 W. Madison. The outlet also notes that Transwestern’s lease at 200 W. Madison is scheduled to expire at the end of the year.
What Transwestern says
Transwestern executive managing director Blake Johnson called the riverfront penthouse a marker of the firm’s trajectory, saying the new space “signals the next phase of our successful growth in Chicago,” according to Crain's Chicago Business. The company handled the transaction in house, with executive managing director Larry Serota leading negotiations for Transwestern, the report adds.
Building background
The 30-story tower along the Chicago River was recapitalized last year after a change in ownership that installed a Mesa West venture as the controlling owner and brought in Sterling Bay to oversee leasing and property management. Reporting and property notices indicate that the new capital structure, paired with a targeted renovation program, has helped lift occupancy to roughly 65 percent and refresh the building’s amenities, according to Urbanize Chicago.
Local footprint
The move gives Transwestern a single high-profile hub downtown, while the firm keeps a suburban foothold at Pointe O'Hare in Rosemont, where it is listed among the building’s tenants. Industry reporting says Transwestern’s Chicago team totals roughly 330 employees and oversees about 33 million square feet of leased and managed space across the region, per CoStar News.
Market signal
Brokers and building owners say the deal is another data point that landlords with fresh capital stacks and upgraded properties can still land sizable tenants in downtown Chicago. “This lease underscores the strong leasing momentum we’re seeing not only at 123 North Wacker Drive, but across the downtown office market,” Sterling Bay CEO Andy Gloor told The Real Deal, a line that observers say the Transwestern move backs up in a very visible way.
