A Dutch trading firm is adding a large block of office space in Chicago’s tallest skyscraper, its second significant expansion in Willis Tower in less than four years.
IMC has struck a deal to expand its space by about 100,000 square feet in the 110-story skyscraper at 233 S. Wacker Drive, increasing its total there to more than 250,000 square feet, according to people familiar with the situation.
Previously, IMC added about 50,000 square feet in the former Sears Tower as part of a 10-year lease extension in 2022.
The latest deal is a victory for the owner of the 1,451-foot-tall building, private-equity giant Blackstone, and the broader Chicago office market. Reductions in space by tenants have been far more commonplace than expansions in recent years across the nation’s largest cities.
In another significant expansion recently in the Loop business district, engineering design firm Sargent & Lundy added three more floors to its lease in the 51-story tower at 77 W. Wacker Drive, increasing its total to more than 447,000 square feet before its planned move into the tower starting this August. That lease is a relocation from 55 E. Monroe St.
The IMC and Sargent & Lundy deals, as well as smaller-scale expansions recently in the Loop and River North, offer hope to landlords that for years have battled to overcome historically low demand.
Blackstone, which bought Willis Tower in 2015, recently reached an agreement to push the maturity on more than $1.3 billion in debt on the property as far as into 2030 with extension options.
It’s unclear why IMC needs more space. The firm did not respond to requests for comment from CoStar News.
Blackstone declined to comment.
IMC, a market maker, is based in Amsterdam. The firm also has offices in London; Hong Kong; Sydney, Australia; Mumbai, India; Zug, Switzerland; and Aarhaus, Denmark, according to IMC’s website.
The Chicago office opened in 2000 and has become the company’s largest, with more than 650 employees, according to the website.
The largest tenant in Willis Tower is the global headquarters of United Airlines.
Blackstone’s Perform Properties arm in recent years has signed leases with new tenants including insurer Zurich North America, for-profit education company Adtalem Global Education and several restaurants within the massive retail base of the skyscraper.
For the record
The tenant is represented by JLL brokers Matt Carolan and Daniella Hemsley. The landlord is represented by Telos Group brokers Nikki Kearn, Jamey Dix, JD Parcheta and Jamai Brown.