Claro Healthcare inks 23K sf lease as sublease from Cushman & Wakefield expires

Deal for 23K sf takes over expiring lease for Cushman & Wakefield at John Hancock Life Insurance tower

Claro Healthcare inks 22,700-sf lease as sublease from Cushman & Wakefield expires
200 South Wacker building and Claro Healthcare LLC Chairman Venanzio Arquilla (200SWacker, Claro Healthcare)

Claro Healthcare LLC, a healthcare consulting company, signed a long-term lease at the 41-story 200 South Wacker building in the West Loop.

Claro inked a deal for a 22,673-square-foot space on the 28th floor with building landlord John Hancock Life Insurance on Tuesday. The healthcare consulting company took over the sublease from the original tenant Cushman & Wakefield in 2017 that will expire in December. The lease will start in January after the sublease ends.

“Claro has the rights to expand to other floors,’’ said Tony Karmin, principal at Colliers Chicago.
“One of the features that was very attractive about staying in the building is that we have great flexibility.”

The 755,000 square foot building is occupied by major tenants including AMITA Health, shared office space provider Regus and the University of Illinois. The building is 82.5 percent occupied as of Sept. 28, according to Costar.

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Claro is the latest company to sign a lease in the West Loop, one of the hottest office real estate areas in the city. Kimberly-Clark, Tock, Calamos Investments and Tik Tok signed onto the space in the neighborhood. But with offices implementing work from home policies especially with the Delta strain of COVID-19, the downtown office market vacancy rate hit nearly 20 percent in the second quarter.

Earlier this year, CBRE predicted Chicago’s vacancy rates could surge above 20 percent if projects under construction don’t lure new tenants.

Developers are also planning to bring residential projects to the West Loop area. Most recently, Sterling Bay said it plans on building its first residential project, a 29-story building with 282 residential units. The proposal at 160 North Morgan Street will also spare 10 percent of its units for affordable units on site. The Chicago Plan Commission approved the proposal this year, which will need the City Council’s final OK.