Studley Brokers Medical Office Deal
Saturday, March 21st, 2009Studley Brokers Medical Office Deal
By Jenn Danko
Chicago
The allure of River North’s upscale residential and restaurant development is attracting a new kind of real estate tenant: medical offices.
The Northwestern Specialists for Women is the most recent practice to jump on board, signing a long-term, 15-year lease at 900 North Kingsbury earlier this month. Studley negotiated the 13,755 square foot lease for the medical group, which opted to move into the northern end of the spacious 600 West Chicago complex.
The group of three women doctors will launch their practice in August 2008.
Jonathan Seeley, managing director of Studley and broker of the lease, says the group surveyed more conventional locations in the Streeterville and Michigan Avenue submarkets before deciding on the 900 North Kingsbury location.
“It’s a relatively tight market for Streeterville historically, and it’s tight for doctors looking to build out new (office) space,” Seeley says. The proximity of Northwestern Memorial Hospital has kept medical office tenants vying for space surrounding Streeterville and Michigan Avenue. In the case of Northwestern Specialists for Women, Seeley says the doctors were seeking a space with ample and convenient parking, along with accessibility from major highways. Both would benefit patients, especially those in the late-term of their pregnancies.
“Most of the buildings that we looked at (in Streeterville), didn’t have parking; it was market-rate parking in nearby lots,” Seeley says. At the 900 North Kingsbury address, patients walk about 30 yards from their car to the entrance and pay a reduced parking fee of $6.00 for two hours in the building’s structure. The amenity is a huge benefit for office patients, he adds.
The rapid expansion of Northwestern University, it’s law school and hospital have driven up space demands in the nearby submarkets, Seeley says. “Even though these guys are practicing at Northwestern, they are almost competing against their own hospital for space,” he notes. “The expansion of the schools has kept the market competitive for landlords, but the concession packages weren’t anywhere near where they needed to be.”
In the end, Studley negotiated a “much more favorable” concession package by looking only a half of a mile west of the Streeterville location. He declined to discuss the details of the lease.
The Northwestern Specialists for Women will join the Fertility Clinic of Illinois Chicago in the 600 West Complex, which is located directly below the new offices. Studley also represents the clinic, which is a welcome fit to the building, he says. The two offices will work with one another on a referral basis, sweetening the convenience of the deal.
In addition to serving as the former Montgomery Ward’s warehouse, the 600 West Chicago complex is home to barrage of restaurants, retail, and office spaces housing technology and Internet savvy tenants. More than 3,000 employees work for tenants in the building. The Domain condominium lofts are also part of the 900 North Kingbury address of the building.
Additionally, Japonais restaurant, Motel Bar and a David Barton gym all make home in the mixed-used, historic registered facility.
With such close proximity to the Streeterville medical submarket and the hospital, more Northwestern University affiliated doctors may look to River North in the future, Seeley adds. The 600 West Chicago complex is now nearly 90 percent leased.
Brad Despot, senior vice president of Jones Lang LaSalle, represented the landlord in the lease. “We are excited to have the Northwestern Specialists for Women,” he said in a press release. “They make a great addition to an already robust roster of tenants.”
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