Snapchat parent expands in Chicago

The parent company of Snapchat is coming to Fulton Market, after a previous deal for office space there fell through.

California-based Snap Inc. is completing a deal to lease 38,000 square feet at 800 W. Fulton St., a 19-story building, according to Crain’s. The company would occupy the third floor of the building, which was developed by New York-based Thor Equities.

The company had originally planned to lease 25,000 square feet at 167 N. Green St. in the Fulton Market District, but the deal never materialized, and that space was leased by Builders Vision, Walmart heir and billionaire Lukas Walton’s venture.

Snap already has offices in Chicago, and this likely means that the company will move its staff from its current offices at 648 N. Clark St to the Fulton Market property.

The company has been quiet on plans for the move and any intention to increase its Chicago workforce. The company currently leases 11,000 square feet, meaning it likely has plans to follow other major tech companies and increase hiring in Chicago.

Fulton Market is a bright spot in Chicago’s office market, where almost everywhere else in the central business district has been slow to recover from pandemic vacancies. Fulton Market was the city’s only neighborhood where Class A office availability dropped last year, to 23.1 percent, as the rest of the downtown office market suffered from the pandemic.

Strong demand in Fulton Market pushed up the average sale price per square foot to $678 last year, compared with the central business district’s $431.

[Crain’s Chicago] — Miranda Davis