Thor Equities lands anchor tenant for spec Fulton Market office tower

Sometimes building on spec proves to be worth the risk. Just ask Joe Sitt.

Aspen Dental Management just inked a 14-year lease with Sitt’s development firm Thor Equities to take 197,000 feet at 800 W. Fulton Market, enough space to move at least 1,000 employees to the location. Not only did the company lease office space in the building, but it also took 8,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space, the Chicago Tribune reported.

The 19-story office complex is due to be completed in 2021. New York-based Thor and Canada-based QuadReal Property Group are developing the 467,000 square foot building, which has a staircase design running up the side. Thor landed a $144 million construction loan in December for the spec project.

Aspen Dental moved to Fulton Market less than two years ago but has already outgrown its space. The company manages nearly 780 dental practices in 42 states and has not said yet how many employees will move into the new space once it’s done.

Paul Reumond, Brad Serot and Tony Coglianese of CBRE represented Aspen Dental in the deal. Jack McKinney Jr., Mark Baby and Ben Cleveland of Cushman & Wakefield represented the developers.

[Chicago Tribune] — Jacqueline Flynn