Finding CommonGrounds: Co-working firm opens first Chicago location

The San Diego-based company signed a lease at John Buck’s 33 North LaSalle

From left: 33 North LaSalle, CommonGrounds CEO Jacob Bates, John Buck Company CEO John Buck (Credit: Google Maps, Twitter, and The John Buck Company)
From left: 33 North LaSalle, CommonGrounds CEO Jacob Bates, John Buck Company CEO John Buck (Credit: Google Maps, Twitter, and The John Buck Company)

CommonGrounds is coming to Chicago.

The San Diego-based co-working firm has signed a 10-year lease a John Buck Company tower in the financial district, according to REBusinessOnline.

The company will take just under 30,800 square feet at 33 North LaSalle Street. The lease is for the second and third floors of the 38-story office tower, according to the report.

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The space will be CommonGrounds’ ninth location and its first in Chicago. The company has four locations in California, including two in the Los Angeles area. It also has spaces in Minneapolis, Portland, and Salt Lake City.

CommonGrounds is entering the now well-established co-working market in Chicago. Like it has in other major cities, co-working has rapidly expanded in the city over the last several years. Between 2014 and 2018, around 1.8 million square feet of co-working space was added in Chicago, a three-fold increase over that period.

Regus was an early leader in Chicago, but WeWork now controls nearly a quarter of the market. It has nearly 1 million square feet of space in Downtown.
CommonGrounds’ new space will have a bike room, gym, conference room and kitchen.

Jim Suber of Strategic Real Estate Advisory represented CommonGrounds in the deal, while John Buck Company was represented by Jon Cordell and Jess O’Hara of Newmark Knight Frank. [REBusinessOnline] — Dennis Lynch