Facebook inks 263K sf lease at CNA Center

The space in John Buck Co.'s recently finished tower at 151 North Franklin could accommodate 2K+ employees

John Buck, Mark Zuckerberg and the building
John Buck, Mark Zuckerberg and the building

The John Buck Company signed Facebook to a 263,000-square-foot lease in its recently completed CNA Center, its second large space in the city.

The social media giant’s space in the 35-story tower at 151 North Franklin Street could accommodate more than 2,000 employees, according to the Chicago Tribune.

A spokesperson for Menlo Park, California-based Facebook declined to say how many workers it has in Chicago, how many it plans to add or if it intends to keep a more than 100,000-square-foot office at 191 North Wacker Drive.

In a statement to the Tribune, Facebook said the new office space will allow it to expand its Global Marketing Solutions and Recruiting teams.

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Other tenants in the 807,000-square-foot building besides Facebook and CNA Financial include law firm Hinshaw & Culbertson.

The lease comes on the heels of a deal for Facebook to lease an entire 756,000-square-foot building in San Francisco, the largest office lease in that city’s history. It’s also close to signing another 260,000-square-foot lease in the Playa Vista neighborhood of Los Angeles, The Real Deal has learned.

Cushman & Wakefield represented Facebook in the Chicago deal. John Buck was represented by Bill Rolander and Jon Cordell of Newmark Knight Frank.

John Buck recently returned to the helm of his namesake company, which has built or owned several iconic Chicago buildings, including the Leo Burnett Building, which it built and opened in 1989, and 333 South Wabash Avenue, the bright red, 45-story office tower previously named for CNA until it moved to the Franklin Street tower. [Chicago Tribune] — John O’Brien