Two Office Oracles

JLL'slandlord leasing group has landed more than 5M SF of new product in the past six months. So we thought itsmanaging director Brad Despot would be great for ourBisnowChicago State of OfficeonThursday, April 25. These assignments include: 540 W Madison, Illinois Center, and 222 S Riverside (Burnham Center closing soon). An 11-year JLL vet and father of four boys, Brad has had a courtside view of the city's burgeoning tech scene, handling leasing at 600 W Chicago (Groupon's HQ) since 2000. It's now 98% leased. (We hope he got a foosball table out of that gig.) His main focus is 540 W Madison, which has 250k SF available between now and the first of next year (Brad's pictured with 540 GM Rachel Cuyler, Means Knaus Partners, reviewing renovation plans).

Our event moderator will be Quarles & Brady co-managing partner Ted Yi, who representsboth owners and users of commercial office buildings. He's weathered many cycles since beginning his career in 1982 and learned that the way to survive is to be a chameleon. (As markets change, he's moved from representing lenders to retailers to architects and contractors, now repping landlords and tenants.) The same goes for today's office buildings, he says, which are adapting to today's collaborative and open workspaces and pressure to efficiently utilize space. And Ted knows open spaces: he loves hiking with his three sons (pictured near Yellowstone in Montana) and with the Boy Scouts.