The American Medical Association (AMA) has announced in a release that it plans to relocate its Chicago headquarters to 330 N. Wabash in September 2013.
The announcement follows an extensive property search by AMA officials to evaluate future workspace options as its current lease at 515 N. State St. expires in August 2015. AMA officials explored several options, including renovating current workspace and even moving to a new development, but felt the move to 330 N. Wabash (former headquarters to IBM) offered the most attractive option.
“The AMA is an iconic organization, and we’re moving to an iconic building, which will provide a great working environment for our employees and the work we do on behalf of America’s physicians,” said James Madara, M.D., AMA’s executive vice president and chief executive officer in the release. “It’s been a thorough and exhaustive process, and we feel this decision makes good sense economically and logistically. It will allow us to upgrade our work environment with minimal disruption to our current workflow and our employees’ commutes.” The new location is just two blocks from current AMA headquarters.
Steve Stratton, Mike Sessa and Jock Howland from Jones Lang LaSalle represented the AMA in the transaction. Prime Group Realty Trust owns 330 N. Wabash.
The building that will serve as the AMA’s new headquarters was designed by famed architect Mies van der Rohe and has been designated with landmark status by the city of Chicago. Completed in 1971, the building recently has undergone extensive renovations and is equipped with modern amenities to support AMA operations. AMA will occupy between 275,000 and 300,000 square feet in the 52-story building. Upon the AMA’s occupancy in 2013 the building will be renamed “AMA Plaza”.
The AMA has been headquartered in Chicago since 1902 and has approximately 1,100 Chicago-based employees.
