Planning agency latest tenant for 601W’s Old Man Post Office redevelopment

The Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning plans to move into 601W Companies’ renovated Old Main Post Office in 2020, moving from one iconic property to another.

The regional planning group signed a 15-year lease for 47,000 square feet in the riverfront building at 433 West Van Buren Street, according to the Chicago Tribune.

The agency is moving from the Willis Tower, where it occupies 51,000 square feet. The move will save the publicly-funded group by contracting its space, but also by exiting the iconic skyscraper where a $600 million renovation effort is pushing up rents, according to the Tribune.

CMAP is the third tenant to announce plans to move into the long-vacant 2.8 million-square-foot building, which New York-based 601W is spending $800 million to overhaul.

Walgreens announced plans last year to take 200,000 square feet in the building, while Oakbrook Terrace-based Ferrara Candy was in talks to move its headquarters to the building, taking 60,000 square feet.

The post office is not the only building in 601W’s Chicago portfolio that is undergoing a pricey facelift. The firm plans major changes at the One South Wacker office tower it bought last year, and it’s in the middle of a $185 million overhaul at the Aon Center that includes plans for an exterior elevator and observatory. [Chicago Tribune] — John O’Brien