Spencer Stuart moving to River North tower
(Crain's) — Executive search firm Spencer Stuart is planning to move its headquarters to the new office tower going up at 353 N. Clark St., expanding its Chicago space by about 25%.
Chicago-based Spencer Stuart has signed a letter of intent to lease just over 100,000 square feet on about 3˝ floors in the 45-story tower in River North that's to be anchored by the building's co-developer, Mesirow Financial, and law firm Jenner & Block LLP. Spencer Stuart is just the third office tenant, but its lease will bring the almost 1.2-million-square-foot tower to more than 80% preleased.
Rendering of tower proposed for 353 N. Clark St. ImageFiction rendering. |
"This is a great deal for the building," says Richard Stein, senior managing director with Mesirow Financial Real Estate Inc. "This is a prestigious tenant, a Chicago-based international headquarters that really fits well here."
Spencer Stuart will move from nearby 401 N. Michigan Ave., where the firm's lease of 81,000 square feet expires in 2010, says Bill Rogers, a managing director with Chicago-based Jones Lang LaSalle Inc., who represents the firm.
Privately held Spencer Stuart employs about 1,600 people worldwide at more than 50 offices, including ones opened in the last two years in Dubai and India. Locally, the firm has handled many high-profile assignments; last year it was tapped by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago to find a successor for retiring President Michael Moskow.
Mr. Rogers says Spencer Stuart's decision came down to 353 N. Clark or staying at 401 N. Michigan.
In addition to the allure of a new building, Mesirow and co-developer Friedman Properties Ltd. sweetened the deal by giving Spencer Stuart an equity stake in the project — an unusual perk that's typically offered only to a new building's largest or second-largest tenant.
"We wanted them (Spencer Stuart) to feel that we're treating them as though they are one of three lead tenants," Mr. Stein says.
Mesirow and Jenner are both to move into the new tower in late 2009. Jenner will occupy 410,000 square feet, while Mesirow is taking almost 350,000 square feet. Spencer Stuart will join them in May 2010, when the firm will move about 350 employees into the building.
"353 N. Clark is a state-of-the-art property," Beth Davis, Spencer Stuart's vice-president for real estate, says in a statement. Ms. Davis couldn't be reached for comment.
The building offers several amenities that appealed to Spencer Stuart, including a shuttle service from the train stations, a health club, a high-end food court, an auditorium and two white-tablecloth restaurants, says Steve Smith, a Jones Lang managing director who is leasing the building along with Jones Lang's Gary Kostecki, a senior vice-president.
Mesirow and co-developer Friedman, also of Chicago, announced earlier this month that Minneapolis-based Oceanaire Seafood Room plans to open a 10,000-square-foot restaurant in the new tower.
Related story: Restaurant chain to cast first Chicago net
Mesirow's Mr. Stein says the building is close to landing another sit-down restaurant that would lease about 12,000 square feet.
Spencer Stuart will be based in the tower's 23rd through 26th floors. Its lease is slated to go for 15 years, says Mr. Rogers, who is joined in representing the firm by Jones Lang's Jeff Liljeberg and Elaine Melonides. Mr. Rogers says he expects the lease to be signed in the next two to three months.
