Last week, Paris-based Publicis Groupe put 350,000 square feet of its Wacker Drive offices up for sublease, resulting in another blow to the downtown office market.
The 14-floor listing at 35 W. Wacker Drive formally hit the market last week, according to a marketing flyer from Cushman & Wakefield via Crain’s, now the largest block of available space on the secondary market.
Including the Publicis listing, there are now almost 7.3 million square feet of office space available for sublease in the area, compared to the 3.3 million square feet in the market at the beginning of COVID-19.
Not good news for landlords, but Crain’s reported the listing aligns with a new, flexible work model that benefits both talent and its business—a rationale shared by many companies across the U.S. as more and more continue to trade physical office space due to a preference for remote and hybrid work.
Publicis occupies 32 floors in the Leo Burnett Building and is offering a mix of different floors for sublease through its lease expiration at the end of 2030. It was also reported that the buildings second-largest tenant, law firm Winston & Strawn, is likely to leave the building when its lease expires. Together, Publicis and Winston & Strawn lease more than three-quarters of 35 W. Wacker Drive.
