Worker at 601W Companies’ 1 South Wacker has the coronavirus

An employee of venture capital firm First Analysis tested positive on Friday

One South Wacker (Credit: Google Maps)
One South Wacker (Credit: Telos)

Coronavirus has made its way into a third major downtown office building in Chicago.

An employee of venture capital firm First Analysis at 1 S. Wacker Drive was confirmed to have contracted the coronavirus, sources said. A press release sent out on Sunday by a spokesperson for property owner 601W Companies confirmed that an undisclosed tenant’s employee fell ill and was tested on Wednesday, March 11. The positive result came in on Friday.

The news comes just four days after PepsiCo shut down their Loop office building at 555 West Monroe Street after an employee who worked in the building had exposure to the virus. Another person tested positive at BMO Harris’ three-building complex in the Loop was diagnosed on Thursday.

First Analysis and all the employees have vacated their office at the 40-story 1 S. Wacker and the space will be quarantined for at least 24 hours per CDC guidelines. As of Sunday night, 20 percent of tenants confirmed they will work from home this week and an additional 50 percent said they were unsure. The building has a daily population of about 3,500 people.

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“At this time, One South Wacker is open, but we are encouraging leadership teams to discuss the logistics of work-from-home programs and to see to it that any employee who is sick, at risk, or uncomfortable being out in public can stay home,” a spokesperson for 601W Company said to TRD in an email.

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Illinois has jumped from 25 cases on Thursday to 93 confirmed cases as of Sunday night with over 1,000 people waiting for test results.

Charles River Associates is the anchor tenant of the building, leasing about 50,000 square feet in 2017. Other tenants include RSM, Rise Interactive and Century Aluminum.

601W Companies landed a $310 million refinancing loan in 2018 for the building.