Midwest Property Group will break ground by January on a 32,000-square-foot mixed-use development at the corner of LaSalle and Hubbard Streets and in one of the country’s trendiest office markets. The developer has tapped downtown Chicago specialist and Newmark Grubb Knight Frank (NGKF) Senior Managing Director Matt Ward to secure an office/showroom tenant for the top two floors of the 131 West Hubbard development, totaling 22,000 square feet.
The two-floor space will feature 12-foot ceilings and virtually column-free floor plates, ideally designed for a showroom or loft office. There will also be a separate ground-floor lobby space and entrance with the opportunity for signage and street visibility. Plans call for a restaurant for the remainder of the ground floor. The project is slated to begin construction by January with completion in February 2016.
River North is abuzz with apartments and condos, cafés and restaurants, nightclubs and hotels. Its office space is coveted by a bevy of tech start-ups and internet giants such as Google, Yelp, Groupon and salesforce.com, and more traditional industries like law firms Kirkland & Ellis and Latham & Watkins. It also boasts the lowest office vacancy rate in downtown Chicago.
“The visibility and branding opportunity the building offers provides a discerning tenant with instant cachet and identity,” said Mr. Ward, who joined NGKF in June and is heading up the leasing of the 200,000 square feet of space at 20 West Kinzie that Google is vacating next year along with 111 West Illinois. “River North is the only true 24/7 neighborhood in Chicago.”
