Sharon Kahan and Peter Graham of CB Richard Ellis are still searching for a few good tenants for EnV‘s 27,000 square feet of retail space. The tower has three floors designed for retailers and restaurants, but it doesn’t look like anyone has set up shop inside.
EnV’s street-level spaces are priced at $35 per square foot (for Wells frontage) to $45 per square foot (for Kinzie frontage). Space on the second and third floors is priced at $30 per square foot.
The tower’s website says the spaces are ideal for a “gourmet grocer, fitness facility, salon / spa, bank, coffee house, medical, cyber / Internet cafe, home furnishings, galleries, full service restaurant, LEED retailers & tenants, or fashion.”
I think the problem is that they need someone big to anchor the space. Nobody small wants to move into a massive space and be surrounded by vacancies. I don’t EnV their position!
Another problem for EnV is that the north side of Kinzie, facing the Mart, has a very high retail vacancy level and those spaces offer better visibility and more brand identity at lower rents.
EnV, Silver tower, an 235 van buren all have totally vacant retail spaces. Why not lower the rent for the first year just to get someone in the space. Others may follow.
Mike,
It’s hard for the owners to go too low on the rental rates unless the tenants are willing to pay for their own buildout. These are all raw spaces and will need a decent amount of cash to get tenants in and running. Unless someone will agree to a longterm lease (at least 5 years) it’s going to be hard for the owners to justify lowering the rental rates.