Landmark Sullivan Center Looking To Write New Chapter And Fill Vacant Office Space As Omicron Retreats

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Omicron is in retreat, and landlords and leasing teams hope that means companies are headed back to the office.

They continue to search for solutions to the Loop's historically high vacancy rates.

Morning Insider Tim McNicholas shows us one Loop landmark looking to write a new chapter.

State and Madison, once branded the world's busiest intersection, is home to the 120-year-old landmark formerly known as the Carson Pirie Scott Building.

Today it's called the Sullivan Center, and Jamey Dix with the leasing team shows off both the new and the old as he tries to fill 70,000 square feet of available office space; no easy task in a pandemic.

"There's been a renaissance for many of these old historic buildings, where tenants seek out those old historic properties, because it's something a little bit new and different from the typical glass and steel building you might see. They're drawn to that character," Dix said.

The team remodeled and fully furnished some of the available space to invite companies looking to return to the office.

The challenge? The old busiest intersection isn't so busy nowadays.

Buildings across the Loop are searching for ways to fight historically high vacancy numbers.

Northwestern University real estate professor Bill Bennett told us in an email office leasing is on the rise across the country, but "Chicago continues to lag the national market by three to four months, which projects an uptick here for spring leasing and sales."

Dix says the Sullivan Center did sign some new leases recently – including a renewal with the digital advertising company, Basis Technologies.

He hopes to build on that with this approach: "More amenities within the workspace, and less of a workstation or desk only type environment."