Add AECOM to the list of office tenants looking to re-engineer its office needs in Chicago.
The $12 billion publicly traded firm is shifting its local office a few blocks and cutting its space by about two-thirds, Crain’s reported. It will stay in the East Loop, taking 23,000 square feet at One Prudential Plaza at 130 East Randolph Street, Crain’s reported.
The Dallas-based firm, which moved its headquarters from Los Angeles to Texas in 2021 as part of a stated drive to make more efficient use of office space, said it will “consolidate its Chicago-area offices” at Prudential Plaza.
It’s not clear how many locations AECOM has in the area, but a 65,000-square-foot lease at 303 East Wacker Drive is believed to have hosted the bulk of its Chicago presence. The company said the pending move will bring “432 employees to one location for improved collaboration and access to the latest technology and amenities.”
The deal offers an example of how demand for office space is diminishing in Chicago and elsewhere as landlords face higher operating costs due to increased interest rates on borrowing.
Various companies have combined to trim nearly 2 million square feet of space in downtown Chicago over the past 12 months, pushing vacancies to a record high of 25.8 percent.
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The AECOM lease is a bright spot for Prudential Plaza owner Wanxiang America Real Estate Group. The Chicago-based investor bought the two towers, which span 2.3 million square feet, in 2018. Wanxiang is starting on a $50 million upgrade of the property that aims to boost leasing as part of a plan that saw the landlord extend a $389 million loan.
The deal marks a loss for Beacon Capital, which lost AECOM despite its own recent upgrades at the 944,000-square-foot, 30-story building on Wacker, where it’s been one of the largest tenants. The building has added several major tenants recently, including Bankers Life & Casualty, and has recently taken its occupancy up to 91 percent.