Tom’s Recommended Reading for the Week

1. Law Firms Looking to Downsize – The business model for most law firms is changing dramatically, and according to a new report from Colliers International, over the next few years many will seek to right-size their real estate portfolios. Except at the very top tier law firms.. Globe St.
   
2. Mizachi, Werner sell land beneath West Loop office building – After bids fell short of their target sale price, owners of a big West Loop office tower are trying a new approach: splitting it in two. A venture of Florida-based investor Joseph Mizrachi and New York-based David Werner sold the land beneath 300 S. Riverside Plaza for $220 million. Now they’ll try again to sell the nearly 1.1 million-square-foot office building on it… Crain’s Chicago
3. Morton Salt plans new West Loop HQ at River Point – Morton Salt’s headquarters and a satellite office for Allstate are ticketed for a West Loop development along the Chicago River, continuing a run of deals for the two office towers under construction downtown… Crain’s Chicago
   
4. Optimus moving HQ to a (very) high-profile address – Optimus President Tom Duff said today that his post production company, one of the largest in Chicago, will in late fall of this year move from its longtime home at 161 E. Grand Ave. in the city’s Streeterville neighborhood to the iconic Wrigley Building at 410 N. Michigan Ave… Chicago Business Journal 
5. Suburban Chicago office vacancy falls, JLL reports – Vacancy in suburban Chicago office buildings fell to its lowest level in more than seven years during the first quarter, providing another positive sign for landlords battered during the recession… Crain’s Chicago