The coronavirus has poured a little cold water on the sizzling Fulton Market office scene.
In a sign of the times, CCC Information Services will scale back the amount of space the company will lease at Shapack Partners and Focus’ 750,000-square-foot office building, according to Crain’s.
CCC, which provides software to process auto insurance claims, will take 125,000 square feet at the under-construction building at 167 North Green Street, according to the report. That’s down from the 180,000 square feet that CCC was set to take when the deal was first reported in March. Cushman & Wakefield advised CCC on the lease.
The 17-story building’s other committed tenants include WeWork — which inked a deal for 140,000 square feet in April 2019 — along with financial consulting firm Duff & Phelp.
CCC will take three floors at 167 Green Street, as it’s called, making it the company’s corporate headquarters when it moves in next year, Crain’s reported. A spokesperson for CCC said it had been “evaluating the right space for the business for some time given its current lease is expiring.”
The work from home culture that the pandemic has foisted on the country has led to a massive reevaluation of office space needs, including from companies like Facebook, Twitter and Google.
Last month, freight tech firm Flexport abandoned its plans to lease 40,000 square feet at Sterling Bay’s latest office building, 333. N. Green St. in Fulton Market. The company said it was “reevaluating its real estate strategy as it explores a hybrid working model,” and added it will be “taking a closer look at the Chicago commercial real estate market…to determine the right office location and size for our team.”
Covid-19 has changed the outlook for the Chicago office market, and in the short-term, has led to a 20 to 25 percent drop in users of the downtown office market. That’s according to a recent assessment from Joe Schwieterman, director of DePaul University’s Chaddick Institute for Metropolitan Development. Before Covid, the Chicago’s office market was booming, with leasing activity having climbed to new heights as workers increasingly opted to live near their jobs, and investors and developers poured big money into mixed-use skyscrapers throughout the Loop and adjoining areas. [Crain’s] — Alexi Friedman