Gas and oil giant BP will stay in its 240,000-square-foot office along the Chicago River through at least 2032, providing Tishman Speyer with a long-term payoff from its recent renovation of the CME Center.
With the deal, London-based BP will remain in its Chicago office home since 2009, New York-based Tishman Speyer announced Monday.
BP’s lease provides some long-term stability to one of Chicago’s largest office landlords at a time when many tenants have been cutting back on space.
The commitment comes after renovations to the property’s lobby, facade and entrances.
The property, developed in the 1980s, includes 40-story towers at 10 and 30 S. Wacker Drive, connected by a 10-story section at 20 S. Wacker. BP’s space is across the seventh through 10th floors of all three buildings.
“This important extension is further proof that today’s major corporations are committed to bringing their people together in high-quality environments with exceptional amenities, modern design and convenient locations,” Tishman Speyer Managing Director Nooshin Felsenthal said in a statement disclosing the extension.
BP previously extended its CME Center lease in 2018. That agreement was set to expire in 2027.
Tishman Speyer has owned the 2.3 million-square-foot CME Center since buying it as part of a portfolio of Chicago office towers for more than $1.7 billion in 2007. The Chicago properties were spun off to Tishman Speyer by Blackstone after its $39 billion takeover of Sam Zell’s Equity Office Properties.
Known best for its ownership of New York’s Rockefeller Center, Tishman Speyer owns real estate in 37 markets across the U.S., Europe, Asia and Latin America. The firm’s other Chicago holdings include another huge, two-tower property, known as The Franklin.
Tishman Speyer also lately has expanded into owning multifamily properties in Chicago.
The firm earlier this year paid almost $114 million for the 191-unit Elevate Lincoln Park building at 930 W. Altgeld St., after last year paying almost $128 million for the two-tower, 357-unit Union West apartment complex along the western edge of Fulton Market.
BP is one of the world’s largest energy companies. The firm has been branching into electric vehicle infrastructure, including last year opening its first major high-speed charging hub at its U.S. headquarters in Houston.
BP has more than 1,000 employees based in the Chicago office, a spokesman said. Its electric vehicle charging, U.S. mobility and convenience, aviation fuels, and terminals and pipelines businesses are headquartered in the city.
For the record
BP was represented by JLL brokers Matt Carolan, Andy Strand and Kevin Morgan. The landlord was represented by Tishman Speyer broker Ellen May.