Commercial real estate company Ryan Cos. moves into West Loop office building

A Minnesota real estate company is moving into a new office in Chicago’s West Loop, betting on downtown because that’s where its business comes from.

Ryan Cos., which offers construction, architectural and engineering services, will move into the space at 224 North Desplaines Street, the Chicago Business Journal reported. The new 6,500 square foot office can accommodate about 35 full-time employees and will be its second regional office after its outpost at 700 Oakmont Lane in Westmont, 20 miles out of town, where about 150 employees work.

The company employs more than 1,800 people in 16 different offices, according to Jim McDonald, president of Ryan’s Great Lakes region.

“Our business is taking us more and more downtown as we capture more market share,” McDonald said in a statement to the Business Journal. “Our region’s business platform has grown significantly over the past few years, so we need additional office space to accommodate our larger team and growth strategies.

Chicago’s central business district had a disastrous year in 2021, buckling under pandemic strains that had already devastated the suburban office market the year before. The office vacancy rate in downtown Chicago rose nearly 24% from the end of 2020 to the end of last year, hitting a record 20.3% in the fourth quarter, figures show. by Cushman & Wakefield.

RyanCos. is developing the Clarendale Six Corners seniors community at Irving Park Road and Milwaukee Avenue on the northwest side of town. The 10-story, 258-unit complex will cover 1.25 acres of the four-acre parcel known as The Point at Six Corners. The project, which is being co-developed by LCS and Harrison Street, is expected to be completed this fall and will cost around $117 million.

[CBJ] —Victoria Pruitt