Kirkland & Ellis may be on the move again.
The world’s largest law firm by revenue is in talks with Hines to lease at least 600,000 square feet of office space in the 60-story Salesforce Tower, which is expected to open in 2023, the Chicago Tribune reported.
The Wolf Point site of the forthcoming tower is just two blocks west of Kirkland & Ellis’ current office on North LaSalle Street.
Negotiations remain ongoing, leaving room for both sides to walk away. If signed, the reported 600,000 square foot agreement would constitute the largest new office lease in Chicago since Kirkland & Ellis committed to its current home in 2005, four years before ultimately moving in.
Salesforce has already committed to a 500,000 square foot lease in the tower, which is being developed by Hines. The tech firm’s 17-year lease, signed in 2018, includes naming rights.
The tower spans 1.2 million square feet, meaning it would be over 90 percent leased a year and a half ahead of its anticipated opening if an agreement is reached with Kirkland & Ellis.
Pelli Clarke Pelli is the designer of the Salesforce Tower, one of three towers on the riverfront near Merchandise Mart. The other two buildings on the site are residential.
Kirkland & Ellis’ position is the latest sign of a rebound for the office market in Chicago, which struggled with a record number of vacancies due to the pandemic. JPMorgan Chase is reportedly looking for upwards of 1 million square feet of office space downtown.
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[Chicago Tribune] — Holden Walter-Warner