A trio of companies have recently signed up for new or expanded office space downtown, a sign of tenants preparing to return to offices as COVID-19 vaccinations pick up speed. In a new addition to the West Loop, Lactalis Heritage Dairy subleased 35,000 square feet at 540 W. Madison St., where it will open its first Chicago office. In the East Loop, Lake Forest-based business service and technology provider Impact Networking leased another 31,335 square feet at 150 N. Michigan Ave., bringing its footprint to over 50,000 square feet at an office it has occupied since 2014. And in the Fulton Market District, furniture company Teknion leased nearly 22,000 square feet at a new office building at 800 W. Fulton Market.
The trickle of deals looks like a flood compared to the past year, during which new office leasing activity was at a near-standstill amid the uncertainty of the pandemic and companies recalculating their workspace needs after adjusting to employees operating remotely.Tenants downtown are still collectively shedding more office space than they're taking, as the first three months of the year marked the worst quarter for demand in 11 years, according to brokerage CBRE. But the new leases—combined with a high-profile Fulton Market office deal announced last week by Kimberly-Clark—are much-needed good news for landlords and could be early examples of companies returning to the market and making new commitments to real estate as the COVID fog begins to subside.
This article was published by Crain’s Chicago Business and features commentary from the OfficeCreated team. Read the full article