Industrious continues Chicago expansion, signs lease for first Central Loop location

The co-working firm will soon have eight local sites as it seeks a bigger piece of Chicago’s shared office market

Jamie Hodari and 231 South LaSalle (Credit: Industrious)
Jamie Hodari and 231 South LaSalle (Credit: Industrious)

Co-working firm Industrious inked a 52,000-square-foot lease in Chicago’s financial district, furthering the company’s expansion in Chicago’s growing shared-office market.

New York-based Industrious will take over the 21st and 22nd floors of Beacon Capital Partners’ Central Standard Building at 231 South LaSalle Street, the company confirmed Wednesday. The space will open in the third quarter.

The LaSalle Street location will be Industrious’ eighth in Chicago and its biggest local office. In November, Industrious announced its seventh Chicago location in a 47,000 square-foot space in the Ogilvie Transportation Center.

Industrious opened its first office locally in River North in 2013, and has since expanded to Evanston and Fulton Market. The firm acquired rival Assemble last year, doubling its Chicago footprint.

Sign Up for the undefined Newsletter

The LaSalle location will be Industrious’ first in the Central Loop, which is undergoing a change as financial institutions leave for new office buildings in River North and the West Loop. The Central Standard building it will inhabit is undergoing a renovation, including a new 7,000-square-foot fitness center and a rooftop deck.

Industrious is expanding in Chicago in order to meet increased demand for co-working space, a company spokesperson said.

The co-working industry in Chicago tripled its footprint between 2014 and 2018 and now makes up more than 2 percent of the local office market. The local market is dominated by WeWork, which is working to open its ninth location at 222 South Riverside Plaza. WeWork accounted for 23 percent of the city’s co-working space as of July.

Industrious isn’t the only firm challenging WeWork’s spot as the central player in the market. German company Rent24 leased 100,000 square feet at 500 North Michigan Avenue, part of its initial push into the United States. Rent24 is planning six to eight Chicago locations by the end of 2019.