Kilpatrick Townsend Trims Office Space, Heads to BMO Tower

One of Chicago’s fastest-growing law firms is cutting back on square footage even as it levels up its address, falling into the trend of office tenants downsizing their leases while moving into newer buildings.

Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton inked a deal for just over 29,000 square feet on the 45th floor of BMO Tower at 320 South Canal Street, Crain’s reported. The Atlanta-based firm will move in October 2026, consolidating two separate Chicago offices totaling more than 70,000 square feet into the new space.

That downsizing means more pain for downtown landlords already battling record vacancies. Kilpatrick is set to exit about 34,000 square feet at 175 West Jackson Boulevard, a property heading toward foreclosure, and another 37,000 square feet at 500 West Madison Street, an asset owned by KBS Realty Advisors that’s nearly 90 percent leased.

The consolidation is a win for the BMO-anchored tower, a 52-story, 1.5 million-square-foot development by Riverside Investment & Development and Convexity Properties completed mid-pandemic. The building was 78 percent leased before the deal, with law firms proving to be a reliable tenant base, the outlet reported. Faegre Drinker, Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom, and Chapman & Cutler already call the tower home.

Other firms, such as Antares Capital and Molson Coors, relocated to the BMO tower in recent years.

Kilpatrick has been on a Chicago growth tear, acquiring L&G Law Group in 2023 and HMB Legal Counsel last year, adding more than 55 attorneys. It now has close to 100 lawyers and staff in the city.

Its departure from 175 West Jackson is especially bruising for its landlord and lender. The 1.4 million-square-foot building, owned by Brookfield Asset Management, has been mired in foreclosure since 2022 after the landlord defaulted on a $280 million loan. The property was appraised at just $84 million last fall, down from $210 million in 2022, and was less than half leased as of May. Another major tenant, Wolverine Trading, is also leaving.

Cushman & Wakefield brokers Steve Schneider, Chris Wood and Presley Norby represented Kilpatrick during lease negotiations.

— Eric Weilbacher