Irvine Companies’ Chicago Riverfront Office Tower Signs Tenant

A Washington, D.C.-based law firm is reducing its space with a 40,000-square-foot lease in Irvine Company’s debt-free River North tower.

Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer will relocate from its 48,000-square-foot office at 70 West Madison Street to a smaller space at 300 North LaSalle Street, Crain’s reported. The move is scheduled for April 2026 and will place the firm on the 34th and 35th floors of the 60-story skyscraper.

The lease marks another major leasing deal for Irvine Company, which has steadily attracted law firms to its 1.3-million-square-foot building along the Chicago River. The Newport Beach-based firm spent $37 million on renovations, including a redesigned lobby and a terrace overlooking the Chicago Riverwalk.

Irvine Company, led by CEO Donald Bren, recently cleared a $431 million mortgage on the building, demonstrating its long-term investment in the property.

Arnold & Porter joins other legal industry tenants, including Winston & Strawn, White & Case and Crowell & Moring, which all signed leases within the past 20 months. The deals helped backfill vacancies left by Kirkland & Ellis and Boston Consulting Group.

The law firm’s decision to relocate follows the sale of the 57-story West Madison building, which changed hands in late December for an estimated $85 million. A venture between New York firms Namdar Realty Group and Mason Asset Management acquired the Loop skyscraper for $60 per square foot, resolving a $276 million foreclosure lawsuit tied to the property.

That 1.4 million-square-foot building was 68 percent leased at the time of sale, with Arnold & Porter among its largest tenants.

The firm’s departure adds to the struggles of aging Loop office buildings, which have been losing tenants to newer, high-quality spaces aimed at encouraging in-office attendance.

The office vacancy rate in downtown rose to 26.3 percent in the fourth quarter. During the same three-month period, the Central Business District recorded 150,000 square feet of net negative absorption, nearly double the negative absorption seen last quarter, according to CBRE.

— Andrew Terrell