Floral company FTD will lease 50,000 square feet in a Downtown office building as it moves its world headquarters from suburban Downers Grove.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s office made the announcement Thursday just in time for Mother’s Day, saying FTD plans to move into the space at 1 North Dearborn Street by the summer, and will hire 50 new employees as part of the move.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced the FTD move Thursday, citing the company’s decision to relocate to Chicago as an example of the city’s surging Downtown.
Boston-based Beacon Capital Partners bought the 17-story, 940,000-square-foot building in 2015 for $203 milion from a joint venture led by Joseph Chetrit.
In December it sold a 50 percent stake in the building to New York-based MetLife and the New York State Common Retirement Fund for $266 million, according to data from Real Capital Analytics.
As of January, the building was 93 percent leased, according to Crain’s. Its biggest tenant is the Chicago Public Schools, which leases about 245,000 square feet, followed by law firm Pierce & Associates at 99,000 square feet.
The Mayor’s Office did not release terms of the lease. Representatives for FTD and the building could not immediately be reached for comment.