Tishman Speyer Announces Large Lease Transaction at Chicago’s Franklin Center

Nov. 17, 2009 - PRLog -- Chicago – Tishman Speyer announced today that William Blair & Company has signed a 324,700-square-foot lease extension to remain at Chicago’s Franklin Center through August 2017.  The lease transaction is believed to be downtown Chicago’s largest to date in 2009.  

Designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, Franklin Center is considered one of Chicago’s most architecturally significant properties.   The West Loop complex consists of two connected buildings at 222 West Adams Street and 227 West Monroe Street totaling nearly 2.5 million square feet, making it one of Chicago’s largest and most distinctive Class A commercial office properties.  Tenants enjoy a host of on-site amenities, along with nearby first-class restaurants, shopping and cultural options, and easy access to public transportation.  The property is managed by Tishman Speyer (http://www.tishmanspeyer.com/about/who.aspx) on behalf of a joint venture that includes the Australia-based Tishman Speyer Office Fund.

Commenting on the transaction, Tishman Speyer Senior Managing Director Casey Wold said, “At a time when the competition for blue-chip tenants has never been more intense, we are pleased to retain William Blair & Company at Franklin Center well into the next decade.   Our ongoing aim is to maintain and operate Franklin Center as a signature property, and we believe this transaction reflects our success in meeting that objective.”  

Tishman Speyer President and Co-CEO Rob Speyer added, ”We’re proud to have William Blair & Company, one of Chicago’s great companies and one of the world’s great investment organizations, remain at Franklin Center .   We’re pleased to be able to continue accommodating their headquarters space needs.”

Steve Stratton regional managing director for Jones Lang LaSalle, said, “The renewal transaction was the right answer for William Blair, given the challenging environment, and the Tishman Speyer team delivered a comprehensive business solution that met our objectives.”

Along with Steve Stratton, the Jones Lang LaSalle team representing William Blair & Company in the transaction included Robert Schmidt, Pamela Stamataky, Jack Keenan and Michael Tirpak.  Vickie Noonan, Joe Gordon and Ellen May of Tishman Speyer represented building ownership.

About Tishman Speyer (www.tishmanspeyer.com)
Tishman Speyer (http://tishmanspeyer.wordpress.com/) is one of the leading owners, developers, operators, and fund managers of first-class real estate in the world. Since 1978, Tishman Speyer has acquired, developed and operated over 320 projects totaling over 116 million square feet across the United States, Europe, Latin America and Asia, including signature properties such as New York's Rockefeller Center and Chrysler Center, Berlin's Sony Center and Torre Norte in São Paulo, Brazil.