In brief: 222 W. Adams extension | Naperville lease | Famous Dave's
Municipal finance firm renews at 222 W. Adams
Chicago-based municipal finance firm Hutchinson Schockey Erley & Co. has signed a five-year renewal of its lease for 10,300 square feet at 222 W. Adams St., the former headquarters of USG Corp., until June 2018, according to the annual report by Australia-based Tishman Speyer Office Fund. But because of the defection of USG to a new tower, occupancy plummeted to 77.1% on June 30, compared to 91.7% as of June 30, 2007, the report says. The largest tenant, William Blair & Co., with nearly a third of the 930,035-square-foot building, has already agreed to anchor a new office tower when its lease expires in July 2011. Meanwhile, at the adjoining AT&T Corporate Center, 227 W. Monroe St., the namesake tenant isn’t expected to renew its lease for 710,400 square feet when it comes due in March 2009. Tishman still has to find new tenants for nearly 58%, or 409,900 square feet of that AT&T Corp. will vacate. Currently, the nearly 1.6-million-square-foot structure is 97.6% leased.
Temp office space firm takes space in Naperville
For its first suburban location, temporary office company Amata LLC has signed a lease for 26,630 square feet at CityGate Centre in Naperville, according to real estate firm Colliers Bennett & Kahnweiler Inc., which represented the tenant. Chicago-based Amata, which has three sites downtown, has signed a lease at 2135 CityGate Lane, a nearly 213,100-square-foot office building in the mixed-used complex, which is being developed by Calamos Real Estate LLC. Chicago-based J. F. McKinney & Associates Ltd. handles office leasing for CityGate. The Naperville location is expected to open in December, and Amata is considering a north suburban facility next fall, says CEO Ron Bockstahler.
Famous Dave’s closes Carpentersville location
Barbecue restaurant chain Famous Dave’s of America Inc. closed its Carpentersville restaurant Sunday because it plans to open a new location next month at the Algonquin Galleria, a new 300,000-square-foot retail center about 5 miles away in Algonquin. The move is part of a company strategy to reposition older restaurants when opportunities arise, the company said. Suburban Minneapolis-based Famous Dave’s also said it is taking non-cash impairment charges totaling about $1.6 million on another Chicago-area location and a Twin Cities location, both of which are remaining open. The company’s chief financial officer declined to identify the Chicago-area location.
