Market research company Spins will move its headquarters next year to a new 15-story building set to rise at 311 W. Huron St.
A data and analytics firm targeting the health and wellness industry is expanding its headquarters in River North, inking a deal that will allow one of the neighborhood's most prominent developers to kick off construction on a new 15-story office building.
Spins, which provides market research that health-focused brands and retailers use to boost sales, has signed a lease for nearly 48,000 square feet at a new building planned by Chicago-based North Wells Capital at 311 W. Huron St., the company and developer announced. With Spins locked in as the $88 million project's anchor tenant, North Wells Capital plans to break ground on the 153,611-square-foot building in April and complete it by late next year, when Spins will relocate to the building's top three floors. The company today leases a little more than 30,000 square feet across multiple River North buildings, including North Wells' property at 222 W. Hubbard St.
The lease is a big victory for the developer, which has been hunting since 2019 for an anchor tenant to kick off the Huron Street project. The building is part of a series of new and planned developments from North Wells totaling nearly 500,000 square feet along the CTA elevated tracks at Huron and Erie streets, collectively branded as Verso.
Spins' expansion also comes amid a rise of remote work during the COVID-19 pandemic that has pushed many companies to shrink their offices, driving up downtown office vacancy to a record high last year. The company's growth is welcome news for all downtown office landlords reeling from the space-shedding, though the addition of 311 W. Huron to the market will also provide new competition for tenants. Most of the leasing activity completed during the public health crisis has been at new and recently renovated buildings, while older and outmoded properties have suffered.
Spins CEO Tony Olson said in a statement that the company's growth—it landed an undisclosed investment last year from private-equity firm Warburg Pincus—triggered its search for a larger headquarters in River North "that we could design to enhance our collaborative culture in a hybrid work environment." Spins has more than 400 employees nationally, most of whom are based in Chicago. It's unclear how many people the company plans to hire as part of the office expansion.
As part of the new lease, Spins will have signage along the top of the building and has an option to expand within the building, according to the statement.
"This is a true validation of our vision for this building and River North as a centerpiece of innovation in office, retail and residential development," North Wells Capital Principal Tony Lindsay said in the statement. "River North remains Chicago’s premier live-work-play environment, allowing employers to attract and retain the best talent this great city has to offer."
The Spins deal follows another lease North Wells signed with trucking company U.S. Xpress Enterprises last year at 306 W. Erie St., a building the developer expanded as the first piece of its Verso collection. The Huron building will be developed on a surface parking lot immediately north of the Erie building and include amenities such as a rooftop deck, outdoor terraces on several floors and 130 indoor parking spaces, according to the developer.
North Wells Capital is also planning a 260,000-square-foot office building at 320 W. Huron St., though that proposal would require City Council approval before it could move forward.
Spins was originally known as Spence Information Systems after former Kashi executive Paddy Spence founded the company in 1995. Spins moved from San Francisco to Schaumburg in 2006, and it eventually grew its headcount to 124 employees before it moved its main office to downtown Chicago in 2015, according to the company's website.
Cushman & Wakefield's Jeffrey Skender, Ari Klein and Scott Shelbourne were part of the team of brokers that negotiated the lease on behalf of Spins. Leasing agents Melissa Rubenstein, Annie Nicolau and Anna Panici of Jones Lang LaSalle represented North Wells Capital.