CHICAGO | Economic & Business Development

[LouisVanDerWright]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

^ Where did anyone say that the suburban office market is thriving? You’re comparing office space to warehouse space? I mean, the downtown area’s office vacancy alone is often in the low teens, so 20% in that context isn’t too bad.

All that article said is that it’s not in a state of total collapse. It’s treading water despite a lot of HQ decamping for downtown, and has actually still had steady absorption.

The Downtown vacancy rate is not in the teens, it's 11%. Several submarkets of downtown are in the single digits including River North. That's despite brisk new construction and addition of huge blocks of rehabbed space in recent years. In fact, single digit vacancy isn't healthy and indicates a severe supply shortage. What is healthy is vacancy in the 10-15% range being maintained in that range by consistent new supply.

My point is that, even though the rate has fallen from like 25% in the burbs, that's still not healthy because barely any new supply has been added and what little new supply like the Zurich offices has been built has been more than offset by demolition of corporate campuses. The suburban rate has probably fallen just as much because supply has gone off the market as it has from new job creation.

[galleyfox]

"Catholic Health Initiatives, a nonprofit, faith-based health system formed in 1996 through the consolidation of four Catholic health systems, expresses its mission each day by creating and nurturing healthy communities. As one of the nation’s largest nonprofit health systems, Englewood, Colorado-based Catholic Health Initiatives operates in 18 states with 101 hospitals, including two academic health centers and major teaching hospitals as well as 30 critical-access facilities; community health services organizations; nursing colleges; home health agencies; senior living communities; and other facilities and services. In fiscal year (FY) 2017, Catholic Health Initiatives provided $2.1 billion in charity care, community benefit, and unpaid cost of government programs."

"Dignity Health, one of the nation’s largest nonprofit health care systems, is a 22-state network of more than 9,000 physicians and other advanced practice clinicians, and 63,000 employees. The faith-based organization was formed in 1986 when two congregations of the Sisters of Mercy joined their ten hospitals together to form Catholic Healthcare West. Six congregations of women religious now sponsor the organization under the name Dignity Health, which now includes over 400 care centers, including hospitals, urgent and occupational care, imaging centers, and primary care clinics. Headquartered in San Francisco, Dignity Health’s mission is to emphasize providing compassionate, high-quality, and affordable patient-centered care with special attention to those who are poor and vulnerable, in partnership with the communities it serves. In fiscal year (FY17), Dignity Health provided $2.6 billion in charity care, community benefit, and unpaid cost of government programs."

[the urban politician]

They have an internal memo posted online that addresses our questions:

Questions & Answers about CommonSpirit HealthTM Headquarters Location For Internal Purposes Only |

November 19, 2018


1. Where in Chicago will our new national headquarters be?
We signed a multi-year lease for space in the River Point office building, located at 444 West Lake Street in the West Loop area of Chicago. This office location is adjacent to the Chicago River and near the city’s extensive network of public transportation.
2. Who will be relocating to our new national headquarters and when?
There are no plans to relocate national staff to Chicago at this time, so nearly all employees will continue to work from their current locations. Some administrative staff will be hired locally, as this office will host governance and leadership meetings, including the Board of Stewardship Trustees, Executive Leadership Team, Senior Leadership, and national meetings. The Office of the CEOs will also be located in this new space. Once the new Executive Leadership Team is formed, we will determine how to best use the leased space as well as the future use of current national offices
3. How does this space meet our needs?
The River Point space is ideally suited for us in a number of ways.
• We’re taking over a lease from a company that recently relocated its headquarters.
Because of that, the space is fully furnished and meets our technology needs
without costly upgrades.
• The lease we negotiated will cost less per square foot than we had planned to pay.
• Should the day come when we do require more space, we are confident the River
Point building will meet our needs.
4. How many total staff will be located there?
We don’t know yet. Once the new Executive Leadership Team is formed, we will determine how to best use the leased space as well as the future use of current national offices.
-continued-
5. When will we have a plan for which functional areas and staff will be located in Chicago? How will that be decided and when do we expect to begin making those announcements?
Once the new Executive Leadership Team comes together, we will determine how to best use the leased space as well as the future use of current national offices. Until then, all current employees will continue to work from their current locations.
6. Will we maintain our Denver, San Francisco and other corporate office locations in addition to establishing a new headquarters in Chicago?
The new ministry will have a national headquarters and office structure designed to support our ongoing operational needs effectively. All existing national (CHI) and system (Dignity Health) offices will remain open for the foreseeable future. We will develop a plan to address the long-term future for all existing office locations and support services for the new ministry. As these decisions are reached, we will inform employees of any proposed changes.
7. Will remote corporate team members continue to be able to work remotely?
We value the contribution of corporate staff who work in our headquarters, within our markets, and remotely. We do not have plans to change our current approach to remote work, and it will be addressed as part of our longer-term look at how we provide support services for the new ministry.
8. Who was involved in the space selection?
The Office of the CEOs, Transformation Executives, and CHI and Dignity Health Real Estate and Legal Teams were all involved in the selection and negotiation.
9. How can I ask questions or share my thoughts and suggestions for the new ministry?
You can find more information, ask questions, and provide feedback by using the Contact Us page on AdvancingHealthCareTogether.org.
2

[Vlajos]

^ I've read about this new Healthcare HQ from the combining of CO and CA based comoanies a few times now, but I have not seen any mention of jobs. Anyone know anything about that?

[the urban politician]

Originally Posted by Vlajos

^ I've read about this new Healthcare HQ from the combining of CO and CA based comoanies a few times now, but I have not seen any mention of jobs. Anyone know anything about that?

Seriously?

I mean, you have a long standing habit of posting comments that reflect that you haven’t read any of the posts above yours, but this takes the cake

[Vlajos]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

Seriously?

I mean, you have a long standing habit of posting comments that reflect that you haven’t read any of the posts above yours, but this takes the cake

Sorry, haven't seen a post about job numbers. Would have quicker for you to post a number than that. So how many?

[IrishIllini]

Originally Posted by Vlajos

Sorry, haven't seen a post about job numbers. Would have quicker for you to post a number than that. So how many?

I think initial statements said ~800.

[the urban politician]

Originally Posted by IrishIllini

I think initial statements said ~800.

Huh? Where did you see that number? I highly doubt that

[the urban politician]

Two healthcare related companies expanding by 132k sf at the Aon center. No mention of number of jobs, but probably a lot:

https://therealdeal.com/chicago/2019...ent-occupancy/

[marothisu]

It's small - my guess is no more than 50-75 employees, but will be interesting to see who else follows suit. And although it's not a HQ or anything, add another food/beverage office from a major company to the downtown area.

Coca-Cola moving local office to Fulton Market

https://www.chicagobusiness.com/comm...-fulton-market

Coca-Cola has leased offices at a new 150,000-square-foot building that Chicago developer McCaffery Interests will open in March at 1201 W. Lake St., McCaffery announced.

The deal is relatively small, at a little under 7,400 square feet, and a Coca-Cola spokesman declined to say how many employees will be stationed there. But the beverage company will move its Chicago corporate office to the building from west suburban Downers Grove, where it was a few miles from McDonald's former headquarters in Oak Brook. Coca-Cola also will consolidate teams from other local offices to regain its proximity to one of its largest customers in McDonald’s, which moved last April to 110 N. Carpenter St

Some set up shop quickly, like Sydney, Australia-based Coates Group, which among other products designs digital displays for McDonald's drive-through lanes. The company moved its U.S. headquarters last year to 112 N. May St., two blocks west of McDonald's home. French digital kiosk company Acrelec in late 2017 bought a mixed-use loft building six blocks west of the McDonald's headquarters to build out an innovation center. And some have tested the waters by leasing co-working space nearby.

But leasing brokers in the area say it has been more of a trickle than a flood of vendors. It's far from what developer Sterling Bay envisioned when it initially proposed a 12-story office building at 210 N. Carpenter St.—a little more than a block north of McDonald's—as a "vendor village" that would be a destination for companies that do a lot of business with McDonald's.

[marothisu]

In some Chicago funding news..

Truss is set to make 100 hires following $15M Series A-2

https://www.builtinchicago.org/2019/...aises-series-a

Truss, a Chicago tech startup that helps businesses find offices and other commercial spaces, is going to need a new office of its own.

The company just raised a $15 million Series A-2, and plans to expand its staff by more than 100 people this year.

..

Truss, founded in 2016, hosts over 30,000 listings across nine markets that include Chicago, Dallas, Boston and South Florida. The company intends to spread its market coverage by over 50 percent this year, beginning on the west coast, in cities that include San Francisco and Seattle before spreading eastward.

The company will also be hiring new team members in product development, data analytics and field broker roles.

“With this round, we’re looking to expand by over 100 people in 2019,” said Smith.

The company is also working on a Truss Analytics project geared toward serving commercial real estate professionals.

---

Bringg Raises $25M to Help Walmart and Coca-Cola With Delivery Logistics

https://www.americaninno.com/chicago...ery-logistics/

Logistics startup Bringg has raised $25 million in new funding as it aims to help businesses ship their goods more efficiently.

Bringg, co-headquartered in Chicago and Tel Aviv, raised the new round from a host of well-known investors.

...

Bringg has now raised $53 million in funding since it was founded in 2013.

Bringg’s logistics platform gives companies a more efficient way to manage their delivery operations, allowing them to orchestrate, measure and track the entire delivery process.

The startup’s customers include brands like Walmart, Panera Bread, Coca-Cola and Auto Zone. Bringg says it has clients in more than 50 countries, and it plans to use the funding to continue to expand and boost its sales, marketing and development efforts.

----

BenchPrep raises $20M Series C to double headcount, boost product development

https://www.builtinchicago.org/2019/...-funding-round

Nothing says “new year, new me” like fresh funding.

On Tuesday, BenchPrep announced a $20 million Series C led by Jump Capital and San Francisco-based venture capital firm Owl Ventures. Existing investors NewView Capital and Revolution Ventures also participated in the round.

The Series C follows a strong 2018 that saw the Chicago-based e-learning company increase revenue, grow headcount and bring on new partners.

..

BenchPrep will use its Series C for hiring and product development. The company has a headcount of around 50 people, and Rangnekar said he expects that figure to double by year’s end. Sales and marketing hires are expected to make up about 50 percent of new hires, but BenchPrep will also grow its customer success, engineering and product teams.

[the urban politician]

Update on CME Group, which is doing well:

https://www.chicagobusiness.com/fina...igns-cme-rises

[marothisu]

These guys used to hound me on LinkedIn constantly, but I have a few friends who work or have worked for them. Good company who pays pretty well (from what I know). Adding 300 workers in the next 3 years is not bad at all.


Business Growth Drives Slalom Chicago's Move to Aon Center

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-rele...300778035.html

Slalom, a $1.4 billion, modern consulting firm focused on strategy, technology, and business transformation, today announced the relocation of its Chicago office from Prudential Plaza to the Aon Center. Effective today, Slalom's Chicago consulting business and build center, Slalom Build, now occupy 65,000 square feet on two floors at the Aon Center, more than doubling Slalom's previous office space in Chicago.

"Our Chicago office has grown steadily since we opened 14 years ago, said Justin Odenbach, General Manager, Slalom Chicago. "With more than 700 employees now – and plans to grow beyond 1,000 in the next three years – we simply outgrew our previous space. Because we have a local business model, our people live and work in the Chicago area, so staying in the city was key. We were thrilled to find a space that met our criteria for location, growth, flexible use, and culture fit right here in the neighborhood we know and love."

---

Serial Founder Godard Abel Leads $10M Round in Retail Tech Company ThreeKit


https://www.americaninno.com/chicago...pany-threekit/

Godard Abel, one of Chicago’s top tech entrepreneurs, is backing a startup that helps brands create online 3D product configurations. And he’s staffing it with a host of executives from his previous businesses as the retail tech startup continues to grow.

Abel announced Thursday that he’s leading a $10 million strategic seed investment in ThreeKit, a tech startup that lets brands improve upon the static images on their site by building completely interactive 3D experiences, letting customers better interact with products online. With ThreeKit, brands can integrate augmented reality, 3D product tours, and more directly on their platforms.

The startup was founded five years ago by Ben Houston, a techie who spent 15 years in Hollywood working on special effects for movies like Harry Potter and Avatar. After creating 3D visualization technology for the entertainment industry, Houston realized he could bring similar technology to retail brands’ websites.

...

ThreeKit opened a Chicago office last year, which serves as the company’s official headquarters. The startup has doubled headcount in the last six months, growing to 40 employees. It expects to double its headcount again in the next 6-12 months, according to Joachim Klein, a former Steelbrick executive who now serves as ThreeKit’s COO and president.

[SIGSEGV]

This blog post has some maps of population loss/gains by race:
https://www.liberallandscape.org/201...010-2013-2017/

[the urban politician]

Today's Crains mentions that the owner of the top unit of the Trump Tower (Indian guy from Barrington named Sanjay Shah) will be opening a Chicago office in Fulton Market for his suburban tech company.

Reason stated is attracting talent. Looks like the slow migration is beginning...

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

Today's Crains mentions that the owner of the top unit of the Trump Tower (Indian guy from Barrington named Sanjay Shah) will be opening a Chicago office in Fulton Market for his suburban tech company.

Reason stated is attracting talent. Looks like the slow migration is beginning...

The name of his company is Vistex. He got a $65M initial investment with a potential extra $40M for the future from Accel-KKR which is a VC firm in Silicon Valley.

The Tribune article says they are going to use it to go public one day maybe so they need to expand. They already have 300 employees in the Chicago area and 1500 globally. Their revenue is $250M per year. It said they'd double that chicago area headcount to 600, most likely in Fulton Market.

Great news.

[Vlajos]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

Today's Crains mentions that the owner of the top unit of the Trump Tower (Indian guy from Barrington named Sanjay Shah) will be opening a Chicago office in Fulton Market for his suburban tech company.

Reason stated is attracting talent. Looks like the slow migration is beginning...

Originally Posted by marothisu

The name of his company is Vistex. He got a $65M initial investment with a potential extra $40M for the future from Accel-KKR which is a VC firm in Silicon Valley.

The Tribune article says they are going to use it to go public one day maybe so they need to expand. They already have 300 employees in the Chicago area and 1500 globally. Their revenue is $250M per year. It said they'd double that chicago area headcount to 600, most likely in Fulton Market.

Great news.

Yeah, this was buried on the Tribune website. Here's a link for those interested.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/busin...123-story.html

[the urban politician]

Posted elsewhere:

Originally Posted by marothisu

Also, according to a new JLL report, Chicago was 9th in the world in CRE investment. NYC was 2nd, LA was 6th, and Miami was 22nd. The CRE investment in Chicago increased by 61% compared to 2017, which was better than NYC's 50% increase. LA had a decrease of 27%. In 2017, Chicago was 15th in the world. Now it's gone to top 10

https://therealdeal.com/miami/2019/0...n-2018-report/

[SIGSEGV]

He could probably wingsuit to work that way

[marothisu]

Oops

Also, according to a new JLL report, Chicago was 9th in the world in CRE investment. NYC was 2nd, LA was 6th, and Miami was 22nd. The CRE investment in Chicago increased by 61% compared to 2017, which was better than NYC's 50% increase. LA had a decrease of 27%. In 2017, Chicago was 15th in the world. Now it's gone to top 10

https://therealdeal.com/miami/2019/0...n-2018-report/