San Francisco AI and data heavyweight Databricks is reportedly circling a major downtown Chicago office, with the company linked to a large block of space at The Franklin on West Monroe. If the deal comes together, it would mark a splashy West Coast tech stake in the Loop at a time when downtown leasing is cautious but slowly waking back up.
According to Crain's Chicago Business, Databricks has been tied to lease talks at The Franklin, with the outlet noting the prospective deal alongside other recent tenant activity in the complex. Marketing materials and commercial listings pitch the property as a home for large contiguous floors and big-block users, and the building shows up in listings maintained by CBRE.
Deal Details And The Building
The Franklin spans an entire Loop block with its two-tower setup, offering large floorplates and multiple street entrances that appeal to companies looking to cluster engineering or product teams on single floors. The leasing page for the complex lays out available suites and floorplans at thefranklinchicago.com, and recent market coverage has highlighted institutional tenants locking in sizeable chunks of space there. CoStar and other commercial data trackers have called out notable deals at the property in recent quarters.
Why Databricks Might Choose Chicago
Databricks has been steadily expanding outside the Bay Area and is actively recruiting in Chicago, with current job postings in the region listed on LinkedIn. Market reports from brokers such as Cresa describe landlords aggressively pitching top-tier Loop space to national tenants as they work to secure long-term commitments, a backdrop that could make a Franklin lease appealing for both sides. Coverage of Databricks’ latest funding and expansion moves, including its reported 7 billion war chest, adds further context for why a larger Midwestern hub might be on the table.
What Comes Next
Talks for a lease of this size typically hinge on term length, rental rates and build-out timelines, and landlords as well as prospective tenants rarely confirm specifics until everything is nailed down. If Databricks ultimately inks a headline deal at The Franklin, observers can expect a phased interior build-out followed by a local hiring push, with brokers noting that marquee large-block leases often spark additional activity nearby as other owners retool their own space. For now, the market will be watching for formal documents or broker confirmations to turn this round of chatter into an official announcement.
