Logistics firm puts half its Fulton Market office space up for sublease

A logistics firm is looking to shed roughly half of its space in one of Fulton Market’s most sought-after buildings, delivering another blow to Chicago’s vacancy-plagued office sector.  

MoLo Solutions has put 47,000 square feet up for sublease in the 17-story, 756,00-square-foot building at 167 North Green Street, just two years after signing a lease that runs through April 2034, Crain’s reported.

MoLo’s sublease listing is the latest example of a company scaling back its operations amid the remote work movement, which has prompted a slew of layoffs and contributed to a record-high office vacancy rate last quarter. The amount of available sublease space crept up to 8 million square feet by the end of June, compared to 6.3 million square feet one year prior.

The offering adds to the firms cutting back in Fulton Market, where office tenants had previously held off on adding to the glut of sublease space available in and near the Loop.

And the MoLo sublease further stands out because logistics companies have recently been a boon for office landlords in Chicago. Spot Logistics, Traffic Tech, Loadsmart and Total Quality Logistics have all increased their footprint in recent years, with e-commerce on the rise in light of the pandemic.

It’s unclear what led to MoLo’s decision to trim its operations, but a recent leadership change could have played a role. The firm’s parent company, Arkansas-based ArcBest, recently dismissed MoLo co-founders Andrew Silver and Matthew Vogrich, according to news reports. ArcBest bought MoLo for $235 million in 2021, shortly before the Fulton Market lease was finalized.

JLL brokers Belle Spinell, Kellen Monti and Matt Carolan are marketing the space on behalf of the MoLo. They’re playing up the property’s desirable location and its strong occupancy rate, although that could change soon.

Two tenants of 167 North Green, convenience store company Foxtrot and internet company Hologram, have put a combined 48,000 square feet up for sublease. Plus, co-working space provider WeWork, which leases 93,000 square feet in the building, is on the brink.

Another Fulton Market tenant, public relations firm WPP, is seeking a taker for about 45,000 square feet in a sublease offering at Sterling Bay’s 333 North Green, out of the 253,000 the tenant leases in the building.

— Quinn Donoghue

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