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What's the draw of this 40-story tower at the corner of LaSalle and West Adams? For starters, a new 6,500-square-foot Fitness Formula gym and an Asian fusion restaurant. But the real coup de grace comes when Mr. Collins leads prospective tenants to the penthouse.
High above the chaos of the Loop, a 7,000-square-foot former law library has been transformed into a posh private club, complete with a custom-built bar and serene views: Lake Michigan to the east, the majestic statue of Ceres on top of the Chicago Board of Trade to the south and dramatic sunsets to the west.
"At the end of the day, prospective tenants have seen 10 buildings and they all run together," says Mr. Collins, 45. "So we'll buy them a drink and encourage them to go over all the spaces they've seen. When they try to remember, all they see is our space."
190 S. LaSalle's amenity-in-the-sky strategy is working. "We have been overwhelmed by the feedback," Mr. Collins says. "We have tenants trying to now write the amenity into their leases."
BELLS AND WHISTLES
Innovations like these are sorely needed in Chicago's languid commercial real estate market. The amount of vacant Chicago commercial real estate space has doubled since 2000 as a result of corporate consolidations and downsizing, according to the Building Owners & Managers Assn., to say nothing of new construction now adding millions of square feet to the office supply.
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