CBRE will be moving its downtown offices from 311 S. Wacker Drive in the West Loop to a River North location at 321 N. Clark St. this September, according to Chris Connelly, CBRE’s managing director for the Chicago region.
CBRE signed an 11-year lease for 61,400 square feet at 321 N. Clark St., according to Connelly.
CBRE will lease floors 33 and 34 and a penthouse space on 35, Connelly said. He added that part of the reason CBRE is making the move is that the firm will be adopting a “Workplace 360″ layout that fosters more collaboration among employees.
“We’re going to a much more progressive workplace, which is a strategy that will be happening across the globe,” Connelly said. “It’s got a wide variety of workspace types and it’s supported by significant technology. We’re going 100 percent digital.
“As we looked at what we were going to try to achieve with the space, there were a lot of things about 321 N. Clark that made sense,” Connelly added. “You look at the River North location and all that it has to offer and everything just sort of aligned. Both the physical space and what that geography offered us really fit well into our strategy as we progress through our process.”
Connelly called the space at 321 N. Clark dramatic, with views all the way around in all four directions. The space also has an existing internal staircase that connects all three levels.
“One of the big strategies around our new workplace concept is to try to design space that makes collaboration easier,” he said.
In addition to the space itself, Connelly said the building’s locations was another factor in the decision to move.
“River North is a vibrant part of the city and the location really seemed to fit well with our brand and image,” he said.
CBRE currently occupies 68,000 square feet at 311 S. Wacker. It subleases about 9,000 square feet to another tenant.
“We’ve been in the space at 311 S. Wacker for a very long time,” Connelly said. “We have a changing demographic in our workforce, so I think there are some things internally that made us consider a move.”
