Equity Office, the U.S. office portfolio company wholly-owned by Blackstone’s real estate funds, announced that Gartner, Inc. will be moving its Midwest operations to River North Point at 350 N. Orleans Street. With a total of 74,450 square feet of office space, Gartner will occupy two floors of the building with its 650 employees.
The company plans to move from its current location at 200 W. Jackson in Summer 2018. This move is a result of Gartner’s 2017 acquisition of CEB, an industry leader in best practice and talent management insights, as it works toward consolidating and uniting the two companies’ Midwest operations.
“Our redevelopment and transformation of River North Point is creating a modern employment hub with an unbeatable combination of amenities, location and floorplates—where employees want to be,” said David Moore, senior vice president, portfolio director, Equity Office. “We are excited to welcome an innovative and industry leading company like Gartner to our building, as a direct result of the vision we are executing, and we look forward to providing a space and place that helps their company and employees thrive.”
Gartner will have access to the building’s more than 25,000 square feet of tenant-only amenity space that includes a high-end fitness center with club-like programming, a newly landscaped rooftop deck and a brand new, 10,000-square-foot tenant lounge and conference facility. In addition, the building is implementing a state-of-the-art secure access system as part of the overall redevelopment plan.
Mike Kazmierczak, Ron Lakin and Ellen Zalatoris of CBRE represented Equity Office in the transaction. Matt Carolan and Christine Bower of JLL represented Gartner.
Blackstone acquired the iconic River North Point building in 2015. Originally built in the mid-1970s, the building was the center of Chicago’s apparel industry and host to the world’s largest collection of apparel showroom space. The award-winning property has since been repositioned for a variety of office and creative use tenants and is currently being redeveloped. Located on the banks of the Chicago River, River North Point provides views of the river to the south and west, and views of the Chicago skyline. The building’s premier location offers access to CTA train and bus lines, commuter rail stations and the Kennedy Expressway (I-90/94). A glass-enclosed skywalk connects the property to the Merchandise Mart, providing direct access to the CTA station, underground parking, restaurants and retail amenities.
