Newmark has Deal for Salesforce Tower Chicago Sublease

Newmark is in talks to relocate its Chicago office to Salesforce Tower in a move that would add another high-profile tenant to the newest trophy office along the Chicago River.

The New York-based real estate brokerage is close to finalizing a sublease for 24,000 square feet in the 60-story tower at 333 West Wolf Point Plaza, Crain’s reported. It includes some of the 120,000 square feet Salesforce began marketing last year after opting not to fully occupy the tower it opened in late 2023. The tower was developed by Hines and Joseph P. Kennedy Enterprises in 2023.

Newmark would be the first company to take over any of Salesforce’s unclaimed space at the 1.2 million-square-foot building, potentially paying a premium for riverfront views and prime amenities. The firm would be relocating from Spear Street Capital’s 500 West Monroe Street, a West Loop tower where other key tenants like Antares Capital and Adtalem Global Education have also recently exited.

The deal reflects a broader trend in Chicago’s office market, where companies are consolidating space but upgrading to top-tier buildings to help entice employees back to the office.

Office vacancy downtown is at a record high, though Class A towers have outperformed. Vacancy at top-tier properties was nearly 21 percent at the first quarter’s end compared to 32 percent for Class B buildings, according to CBRE.

A lease at Salesforce Tower would also help Newmark keep pace with rival CBRE, which recently inked a deal to relocate its local office to 300 North LaSalle Street.

Salesforce’s lease at the tower runs through 2040, and its sublease effort, brokered by CBRE, has become a closely watched bellwether for post-pandemic office space strategy among major tech tenants. Terms of the Newmark deal were not disclosed.

The potential move would further hollow out 500 West Monroe, which is about 82 percent leased. Spear Street Capital recently extended Lockton Insurance in a long-term deal, but it has lost multiple large tenants to newer towers over the past two years.

— Judah Duke