Edelman, the global public relations company, is moving its Chicago headquarters.
The firm will downsize from the space it currently leases in the Aon Center when it moves to the West Loop next month, Crain’s Chicago Business reported.
The company, which previously leased 165,000 square feet on the 63rd floor of the Aon Center, will move its headquarters to 111 N Canal Street. The new lease covers 92,000 square feet of space — just over half the amount the firm occupied at the Aon Center.
Edelman’s new home, the JPMorgan Asset Management-owned Gogo Building, is now 90 percent leased. Meanwhile, the Aon Center will drop from the 93 percent occupancy it currently boasts.
After spending 26 years at the Aon Center, Edelman’s new 15-year lease at the Gogo Building reflects a growing trend of major downtown tenants cutting down on the amount of physical workspace they occupy. With so many companies downsizing, the office vacancy rate in the central business district has hit its highest point yet, causing some landlords to be more flexible with leasing terms and boost concessions.
Despite losing one of its largest tenants, the 601W-owned Aon Center isn’t losing hope. Kraft Heinz recently renewed its lease for the 170,000-square-foot office space it has leased since 2015. 601W, which is most well known for the redevelopment of the Old Post Office in downtown Chicago into a modern office building, also recently spent $6.5 million on renovating the plaza along the Aon Center’s southern wall — a key factor in Kraft Heinz’s decision to renew.
Edelman, which employs approximately 6,000 people around the world, has more than 500 workers based in Chicago. The newly leased office space will have 257 desks and almost 800 “other seats.” The additional seating will be spread out across team rooms, meeting spaces, focus areas and cafes.
“We designed an office that people will truly want to be in,” Edelman Chicago President Kevin Cook said in a statement. “This new environment encourages connection and flexibility and gives employees ample room to spread out when they return to the office.”
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[Crain’s] — Victoria Pruitt