Basis and Lessen List Loop Office Space for Sublease

Basis Technologies and Lessen are looking to get some Downtown Chicago office space off their hands as the Loop continues to struggle with high commercial property vacancy.

Real estate software company Lessen is placing a floor at its 203 North LaSalle Street home on the market for sublease, and Basis is subleasing its entire 70,000-square-foot Sullivan Center area at 11 East Madison Street, according to Crain’s. Lessen has only been at 203 North LaSalle Street for only a little over a year after exercising an option to end their previous lease at Prudential Plaza for $7.5 million in early 2026.

The pandemic’s ripple effect is still being felt across the city’s commercial properties.

“Basis is a remote-first company. While we do utilize our office space, we do not fully utilize all of it daily,” Basis President Chris Hendricks told the outlet.

Their lease on the sixth floor at the Sullivan Center expires in October 2030.

Lessen is offering options: either just over 37,000 square-feet on the 23rd floor, or just over 39,000 square feet on the 22nd. Their lease runs through February 2040, according to the outlet. 203 North LaSalle Street is across the road from the Thompson Center, the site of a Google renovation that developers hope will revitalize interest in the Loop’s office space. Google is set to sign billionaire Joe Manuseto’s Morningstar to a 300,000 square-foot lease when the $300 million overhaul of the Thompson Center is finished in 2027.

The two listings are the latest in the Loop’s ongoing flight to quality in the post-pandemic market. More and more prospective tenants are looking for trophy offices, and demand for full-amenitized, top-tier space is skyrocketing, according to the outlet. The remainder of the office space lies mostly-vacant, in April the suburban office vacancy hit an all-time peak of 33.4 percent. Downtown numbers are less severe, but still record highs of 28.6 percent, with half of the space empty for over three years.

— Hunter Cooke