The world’s largest commercial real estate brokerage plans to move its Chicago office a few feet west of its current home in River North, where CBRE would have low-rise space with a terrace overlooking the Chicago River.
CBRE is in advanced talks to lease about 55,000 square feet in the 60-story trophy tower at 300 N. LaSalle St., according to people familiar with the situation.
The deal has not been completed and still could fall apart. If the lease is completed as expected, the Dallas-based brokerage will move its Chicago office just across LaSalle Street from upper floors in the 35-story tower at 321 N. Clark St. CBRE leases 61,431 square feet in that tower, where it moved in 2016, according to CoStar data.
Though CBRE is only slightly reducing its space, the deal follows a national trend in the years since the onset of COVID-19 in early 2020, with many companies moving and cutting space as remote and hybrid work models persist.
The pending deal with CBRE comes as the owner of 300 N. LaSalle, Newport Beach, California-based Irvine Co., re-leases much of the building’s approximately 1.3 million square feet after huge tenants Kirkland & Ellis and Boston Consulting Group signed leases to move to new towers in the city.
Irvine last year announced plans for $30 million in upgrades to the property, including an expansion of steakhouse Chicago Cut at the base of the tower and other new indoor and outdoor amenities. Irvine already has backfilled much of the space being vacated in leases with law firm Winston & Strawn and real estate investment trust Ventas.
Irvine did not respond to requests for comment from CoStar News. CBRE declined to comment.
In August, Irvine announced it had paid off $475 million in commercial mortgage-backed securities debt on 300 N. LaSalle as the loan was maturing.
Led by real estate billionaire Donald Bren, Irvine was able to pay off its debt without a new loan, avoiding the fate of many other office landlords nationally that have given up properties because of loan troubles amid low demand and a dearth of available debt for office buildings.
Irvine owns some of Chicago’s highest-rent office towers, also including One North Wacker Drive and 71 S. Wacker. It bought 300 N. LaSalle for $850 million in 2014.
For the record
The tenant is represented by CBRE broker Todd Lippman. The landlord is represented by Irvine brokers Greg Tait, Maggie Brophy and Jamion Hartley.