Another company is slashing its office space, adding to sky-high vacancy rates in Chicago’s suburbs while delivering a small win downtown.
Technology company Alight Solutions, whose chief executive is Stephan Scholl, will give up its 200,000 sq ft space in Lincolnshire and move into 16,000 sq ft of space in the BMO Building at 320 South Canal Street in Crain’s. report.
The 52-story building, jointly owned by Riverside Investment & Development and Convexity Properties, will serve as Alight’s new headquarters. The company will relocate when the lease on the northern suburbs expires next year.
The deal is another blow to the Chicago suburbs, where office vacancies soared to a record high of 29% last quarter. Vacancy rates are also high in inner-city areas, but ring road owners are faring better, as Grade A buildings in the CBD are more likely to lure workers back to the office.
“Downtown is really attractive,” Sauer told the outlet. “It’s about hiring the right people and retaining the right people, but it’s also about attracting customers.”
The Alight lease also extends the winning streak of the Riverside and Complexity joint venture, which completed the 1.5 million-square-foot BMO Tower last year. Beer companies Molson Coors and Antares Capital recently leased a combined 170,000 square feet of the building, boosting its occupancy rate to about 77%.
Meanwhile, in Lincolnshire, Realty Income could be scrambling to find new tenants as Alight plans to leave. The San Diego-based company owns the 4 Overlook Point office building and acquired the site in 2021 through a merger with Phoenix-based Vereit.
Lincolnshire village official Ben Roesler fears that Arlette’s exit would hurt the town’s overall economy, especially as it is already struggling with the pandemic.
“These employees are no longer patronizing our restaurants or serving customers, which has had a direct impact on our revenue,” Roesler told the outlet. “We want to keep Alight a part of Lincolnshire, but we understand that they and other office tenants will have to make difficult decisions about paying rent and recruiting staff.”
— Quinn Donoghue
