601 W Companies’ 3.5-acre rooftop park at the recently redeveloped Old Post Office is now open, with a range of amenities for tenants that include Uber, Ferrara Candy and Walgreens.
But the facility’s basketball and paddle tennis courts, and running and walking tracks will have few users for now amid the work from home world that has decimated Chicago’s office market, according to Crain’s.
The newly-opened rooftop, which cost $19 million, is dubbed the Meadows.
The New York-based firm spent $800 million to redevelop the 2.5 million-square-foot building at 433 W. Van Buren St. Other notable tenants include the Chicago Board Options Exchange, AbelsonTaylor and the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning.
“We’ve created an urban oasis that complements the exceptional tenant amenity package that The Old Post Office offers,” said Brian Whiting, president and CEO of Telos Group, according to Crain’s. Telos oversees leasing at the massive building.
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The Old Post Office is 80-percent leased, but it remains to be seen how the added amenities will help fill the vacant space. Chicago’s office market has sunk and vacancy rates have shot up. Several companies have exited leases in recent months, canceled plans to take more space or downsized their existing square footage.
Many companies are still operating remotely, including Cars.com, which recently decided to unload a third of its West Loop office space by subleasing.
Meanwhile, at the Old Post Office, Uber temporarily paused construction on its 463,000 square feet of space, and now plans to move in next year instead of this fall, according to Chicago Tribune. [Crain’s] — Akiko Matsuda