Transwestern Signs New Tenants at 200 W. Madison

By Ioana Neamt, Associate Editor

200 W. Madison St., Chicago

Chicago—Houston-based Transwestern managed to secure eight new lease transactions totaling 88,900 square feet at 200 W. Madison St. in the Windy City’s West Loop neighborhood. The recently executed leases bring the office tower’s occupancy to 92.5 percent.

A Transwestern team consisting of Executive Vice President Michael Lirtzman and Vice Presidents Courtney Baratz, Katie Steele and Jeff Dowdell arranged the following leases on behalf of building owner Multi-Employer Property Trust (MEPT) and its real estate adviser, Bentall Kennedy:

• Greensfelder, Hemker & Gale P.C. renewed and expanded its lease to 22,897 square feet;
• Premier Business Centers leased 15,204 square feet;
• Philadelphia Insurance Cos. leased 11,446 square feet;
• VacayStay Connect LLC signed a lease for 6,500 square feet; and
• Beacon Hill Financial Corp. signed a lease for 5,262 square feet.

The new leases coincide with a $5 million renovation effort spearheaded by Transwestern at the 45-story, 928,040-square-foot office tower. The project includes an updated lobby, a 30-foot green wall, several seating areas, modernized elevators, an expanded fitness center with yoga room, and a new tenant lounge/club room.

“The improvements at 200 W. Madison are indicative of a broader trend in the downtown office market—particularly in the West Loop—where owners are upgrading existing buildings to attract and retain tenants that use their office space as a recruiting tool,” said Lirtzman in a statement. “By adding the latest technologies and amenities, owners are seeing heightened interest in their properties, even those that were developed 20 or 30 years ago.”

The 33-year-old tower designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill was recently named “The Outstanding Building of the Year” (TOBY) by BOMA/Chicago for excellence in property management and operations. The 45-story tower was also recertified LEED Gold by the USGBC in September 2015, and will soon feature a LEED Dynamic Plaque to measure and display building performance data in real time.

“Office users are becoming much more conscious of their energy consumption and demanding eco-friendly buildings that are not only better for the environment but also more affordable, with fewer expenses on to the tenant,” stated Bentall Kennedy Executive Vice President Paul Boneham. “By making this upfront investment in sustainable technologies, we can transform a building like 200 W. Madison, which opened in 1983, into a modern office tower that operates more efficiently and is on par with new construction.”

Image courtesy of Transwestern