Tom’s Recommended Reading for the Week

Check out the top Chicago commercial real estate news before heading into the weekend!

1. For investment returns, retail landlords lead Chicago market – It’s a good time to be a landlord in the Chicago area, especially if you own a retail property. Shopping centers around the region delivered one-year total returns of 14 percent in the third quarter, the highest among all major property types here, according to data from the National Council of Real Estate Investment Fiduciaries, a Chicago-based trade association… Crain’s Chicago
   
2. Hyatt, Polsinelli plan moves to 150 N Riverside – Hyatt Hotels Corp. and law firm Polsinelli PC are in advanced negotiations to move to a 53-story office tower under construction along the Chicago River, deals that would make the development about 60 percent pre-leased two years before it’s complete. Chicago-based Hyatt is finalizing a lease to move its headquarters to about 250,000 square feet in the building at 150 N. Riverside Plaza, according to people familiar with the project. Kansas City, Missouri-based Polsinelli also is close to shifting its Chicago office to about 110,000 square feet in the tower… Crain’s Chicago
   
3. Millenials: Not as Different as You Think – Everything you’ve been told about the millennial generation and their desires for futuristic office design isn’t true, according to a recent CBRE study. Millennials are seen by society as tech-friendly, diverse, urban-minded and married to their smartphones. In the business setting, they’re seen as anti-authority, desiring more social links and drawn to collaborative spaces. Developers and business owners, mindful that 75 percent of the workforce will be made up of millennials by 2025, have tried to follow these trends in office construction, removing private offices and making social spaces a focal workspace plan… NREI
   
4. Protein shakes maker Glanbia leasing former Sara Lee HQ space – Sports nutrition company Glanbia Performance Nutrition Inc. is bulking up its west suburban office with a deal to move into a large block of Sara Lee Corp.’s former headquarters space in Downers Grove. The subsidiary of Irish cheese and nutritional ingredients company Glanbia PLC, which makes protein drinks and other nutritional supplements under brands such as Optimum Nutrition and Isopure… Crain’s Chicago
5. It’s official: The Chicago Spire is dead – Chicago developer Related Midwest LLC has taken control of the Chicago Spire development site, putting an end to a big bubble-era dream that stalled once the housing crisis hit. Chicago bankruptcy lawyer Joseph D. Frank, who represents Spire developer Garrett Kelleher, confirmed today that his client handed over the property at 400 N. Lake Shore Drive to its biggest creditor after failing to make a required payment late last month… Crain’s Chicago