American Bar Association Renews Chicago Lease

By Roxana Baiceanu

321 N. Clark St., Chicago

The American Bar Association has renewed its lease at 321 N. Clark St. in Chicago’s River North neighborhood for the fourth time. The organization’s  161,000-square-foot office has been occupying the building’s 17th through 22nd floors since 2004. Savills Studley represented the tenant in the transaction, while Hines worked on behalf of the landlords, Diversified Real Estate Capital and American Realty Advisors.  

With the new agreement, ABA gained several improvement concessions and a lower rent. Also, the tenant relinquished control of a portion of the ground and lower floors as the owners are working to accommodate a new Lettuce Entertain You restaurant and a special events venue at the River North building. The renovation of the organization’s headquarters is expected to be completed by summer.

A long-lasting collaboration

Feinberg, together with Vice Chairmans John Goodman and Joe Learner, Corporate Managing Director Renae Bradshaw and Senior Managing Director Rich Dale arranged the lease on behalf of the tenant.

“Using the tenant improvement package negotiated by Savills Studley along with the firm’s workplace strategy consultation and project management services, the ABA will be able to restack its occupancy to a more efficient space solution in line with the latest workplace standards, featuring collaborative and open floor plans with increased exposure to natural light for its employee base,” said Savills Studley Senior Vice President & Chicago Region Co-Head Eric Feinberg, in prepared remarks.

Savills Studley has a long-standing collaboration with ABA, having represented the association in all its lease negotiations at 321 N. Clark in addition to the $69.2 million sale of its former Washington D.C.’s headquarters back in 2011. Hines’ Managing Director Brian Atkinson and General Manager Patrick Philbin represented the landlord.

Image courtesy of Yardi Matrix