Verizon Extends Large Lease at Michigan Plaza

CHICAGO-Verizon Business Services, a unit of Verizon Communications, has signed a lease extension for 72,700 square feet at Michigan Plaza. The communications and IT solutions company has extended its lease term for the three full floors it occupies in the low-rise section of 205 N. Michigan Ave. Mark A. Buth, SVP and managing director of leasing services for MB Real Estate, who acts as leasing agent for the building owner, tells GlobeSt.com that the tenant renewed early.

The lease term and rate were not disclosed. Brian M. Chernett and Dan Maslauski with Jones Lang LaSalle represented Verizon, while Buth, along with leasing representative Kathleen Bertrand, represented building owner Loeb Partners Realty LLC. The New York City-based firm bought the property in December 2004 for approximately $273 million, sources say.

Michigan Plaza consists of two towers–205 N. Michigan Ave., a 44-story tower, and 225 N. Michigan Ave., a 25-story tower–which total nearly two million square feet. The plaza is currently about 96% leased. Asking lease rates at Michigan Plaza range between about $28 and $32 per square foot, gross.

Amenities at the building include onsite management, 24-hour security, a concierge, 500 parking spaces, a bus that travels to and from the West Loop train stations, and retailers. The buildings, constructed in 1982, were designed by Fujikawa Johnson & Associates. The plaza underwent renovations last year which brought new signage and interior storefronts, landscaping, a canopy and frameless glass entrance, and a new security desk and turnstiles.