One of Chicago’s largest law firms is ready to occupy more than half of a proposed West Loop tower, a deal likely to kick off construction of the first new downtown office skyscraper in years.
Sidley will move more than 1,500 employees from 1 S. Dearborn St. in the Central Loop to a 1-million-square-foot high-rise that developer Related Midwest plans to build at 725 W. Randolph St., said Brian Fahrney, chair of the law firm’s executive committee.
Financial institutions typically require developers to find an anchor tenant before they fund the construction of any proposed office skyscraper, and the agreement with Sidley should ensure Related Midwest can break ground and complete the 45-story building by late 2030.
“Obviously, there is a lease to be negotiated and the financing to get done, but (Related) seems to have a high degree of confidence and so do we,” Fahrney said. “We wanted our people to go into a high quality building and I think we got it.”
Developers launched construction of several West Loop skyscrapers in 2019 and early 2020, including the 61-story Salesforce Tower at 333 Wolf Point Plaza and the 51-story BMO Tower at 320 S. Canal St.
But the collapse of the office market and the historically high vacancy rates left in limbo further plans for new office skyscrapers. Many builders stuck to adaptive reuse projects, such as the reconstruction of the James R. Thompson Center into a new home for Google.
Related Midwest first proposed building a combined apartment and hotel complex at 725 W. Randolph St., but switched to planning an office building in 2023. Fulton St. Cos. did complete in early 2026 a smaller office project, an 11-story mixed-use development totaling about 400,000 square feet at 919 W. Fulton St.
Fahrney said Sidley had expected the downtown’s high vacancy rates meant the firm would have plenty of options. But other tenants had already snapped up the best available spaces, so securing more than a half-million-square-feet in an existing trophy office building was a challenge.
“For the type of space we were looking for, there were surprisingly few options,” he said.
The vacancy rate for Class A properties was still at a record high of 21.3% earlier this year, according to commercial real estate firm Colliers. But the rate for Class B buildings stood at more than 30%.
Related Midwest still needs a green light from City Council before breaking ground at 725 W. Randolph St. The firm is currently developing The 78, the new home of the Chicago Fire’s 22,000-seat soccer stadium, along with 400 N. Lake Shore Dr., a 72-story apartment tower, and the new quantum computing campus on the South Side.
“We are proud to welcome Sidley, an industry leader and global law firm, as the anchor for our next iconic office environment,” said Curt Bailey, president of Related Midwest, in a prepared statement. “This will be the go-to building in the city’s premier submarket for their team to grow and thrive in this new milestone.”
Fahrney said it also made sense to switch to the West Loop after working in 1 S. Dearborn St. since 2005.
“We like the proximity to the trains and vehicular traffic, and at the same time you’ve got world-class restaurants and hotels,” he said. In addition, “a lot of our talent lives over there.”
