Google’s Motorola Mobility announced Thursday its plan to move its headquarters from Libertyville, IL, to Vornado Realty's Merchandise Mart in downtown Chicago next summer. The mobile phone maker inked a lease for 572,000 square feet to house 3,000 workers on the top four floors and the rooftop level of 222 Merchandise Mart Plaza.
Merchandise Mart is one of the world’s largest commercial buildings encompassing 3.5 million rentable square feet of office and showroom/
retail space. Its 25 stories span two city blocks with massive 200,000-square-foot floors, a unique feature among Chicago buildings. This transaction increases the office component of the building to 1,734,000 square feet. Other lead tenants include CCC Information Services Inc., Chicago Teachers Union and Flashpoint Academy. The average asking rent is about $28 per square foot per year, according to CoStar Group information. CBRE is the primary leasing contact.
Motorola Mobility will relocate from 600 N. US Highway 45, a 1.18 million-square-foot industrial building it owns and fully occupies in Lake County. The company did not disclose whether it plans to sell or lease out the complex.
Vornado recently sold its interests in other mart properties, including 350 W. Mart Center, the Washington Design Center, the Boston Design Center, the L.A. Mart and the Canadian Trade Shows, but kept the Chicago Merchandise Mart.
For more information, see CoStar Property ID #144391.