Medline Expands Chicago Office Presence by 320 KSF

Medline is significantly expanding its footprint in the Chicagoland area by tripling the company’s space at The Mart in Chicago’s Central Business District and adding 210,000 square feet of new space in a nearby suburb.

Medline and landlord Vornado Realty Trust—owner of the 3.7 million-square-foot mixed-use property in downtown Chicago previously known as the Merchandise Mart—revealed that the firm was expanding its lease from 51,000 square feet to 161,000 square feet as part of a single, contiguous space across most of the 12th floor. The medical supplies giant committed to a long-term lease with Vornado at the 222 Merchandise Mart Plaza property, running through 2036.

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In a separate announcement, Medline said it was renting 210,000 square feet at 2375 Waterview Drive in Northbrook, Ill., located about 4 miles west of the company’s global headquarters in Northfield, Ill. Previously known as 1 Astellas Way, the Northbrook campus totals 432,000 square feet across two six-story buildings owned by Astellas Pharma Inc., which has its headquarters there. Last March, CF Industries signed a long-term, 77,863-square-foot lease at the Class A office campus managed by Transwestern.

A Medline official told Commercial Property Executive the expansion at both properties will accommodate current and future growth. Medline will be continuing as a hybrid workplace but the expansion will bring various teams together, as more than 1,000 employees will relocate across the two locations with room for incremental growth.

With the expansion of The Mart office space, which first opened in 2022, and addition of the new Northbrook space, Medline’s footprint across Cook and Lake counties will be more than 3.8 million square feet. In the last five years, Medline boosted its Chicagoland workforce by 33 percent, growing from more than 4,600 local employees at the end of 2019 to nearly 6,100 as of Sept. 1. Medline has more than 39,000 employees worldwide and does business in more than 100 countries and territories.

Medline expects to complete expansion at The Mart by the end of the first quarter of 2025 and at the Northbrook office by the second quarter of 2025.

Iconic growth

Located on 6.2 acres, The Mart is an iconic mixed-use property that fronts North Orleans Street in Chicago’s Central Business District. It was built in 1930 and underwent thorough renovations in 1991 and 2007. Vornado acquired the asset for $356 million from Joseph P. Kennedy Enterprises in April 1998 as part of a larger, $625 million portfolio transaction.

Vornado recently completed the final phase of a more than $70 million renovation program at The Mart. The upgrades included adding a grand staircase leading to a second-floor amenity program and gathering space that features food and beverage options, fitness and conference center, tenant lounge and landscaped River Park, which serves as a “front lawn” to the building.

The 25-story building spans two full city blocks and has about 3.5 million square feet of rentable office space, 90,000 square feet of retail space and is the largest design center in North America, with more than 250 premier design showrooms offering resources for residential and commercial markets. The LEED Platinum certified building has 2,250 parking spaces in both above-ground and subterranean facilities.

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The Medline lease expansion will make the company one of The Mart’s largest tenants. Other companies in the building include tech firms such as Motorola Mobility, 1871 and MATTER, as well as Fortune 500 companies including Conagra Brands, Allstate, Beam Suntory, Avant and Grainger. PayPal leases 108,000 square feet, GoHealth leases 180,297 square feet and Interpublic Group leases 77,535 square feet of space, according to CommercialEdge.

J. Frank Franzese and Steven Bauer of Colliers represented Medline in its lease transaction. Vornado was represented by Andrea Saewitz, Wendy Katz and Ben Cleveland of Stream Realty, which is the leasing manager for The Mart.

More Medline expansion

In October 2022, Medline leased about 710,000 square feet at 264 S. 5750 W., a newly built industrial development in Salt Lake City. The health-care company had outgrown its 250,000-square-foot distribution center in the metro.

The new building is located on a 42-acre site and features 113 dock doors, 40-foot clear heights, 251 trailer parking spots and 383 parking spots for employees. It is close to interstates 80 and 215, less than 5 miles from Salt Lake City International Airport and about 8 miles from downtown Salt Lake City.

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