Mesirow Signs Lengthy HQ Lease Extension, Shrinks Footprint 33%

Financial services company Mesirow Financial inked a 10-year lease extension at its River North headquarters but reduced its footprint by a third, adding to the slew of tenants cutting their space amid the prevalence of hybrid work. 

Mesirow, which has its main office at 353 N. Clark St., extended its lease through 2036 while shedding about 55K SF in the tower, Crain’s Chicago Business reports. The company has been an anchor tenant in the 47-story building since it co-developed the tower in 2009, according to Crain’s. 

"We're just rightsizing our space," Mesirow CEO Natalie Brown told Crain’s. 

Mesirow is vacating two of its six floors in the tower and updating some features of its offices, Brown said. The company still needs ample physical space because it requires its employees to be in the office Tuesday through Thursday, and the move to shrink space will increase efficiency, she said. 

While the company explored relocation options over the past couple of years, many people in the organization didn’t want to leave the space, Brown said. 

"People wanted to stay in this building," Brown told Crain’s. "That drove a lot of the decision."

Chicago real estate firm Heitman, which purchased the 1.2M SF building for $715M in 2014, is already grappling with a space reduction from its largest tenant, law firm Jenner & Block. After a 2020 court battle over unpaid rent, both parties settled the dispute, and the law firm reportedly signed a lease extension for 225K SF, roughly half of its previous space, Crain’s reported. 

The building will take another hit when REIT Ventas moves its headquarters to 300 N. LaSalle St., vacating about 50K SF after its lease expires this year. 

The building is 89% leased, not including the space reductions from Mesirow, Jenner & Block and Ventas, according to Crain's.