Insurance Firm’s Focus is Location and Expansion
Challenge: With more than 125 years in business as one of Illinois’ largest insurance agencies, R.W. Troxell needed a new, downtown Chicago office that provided a central location, was close to public transportation and had the professional look to match their corporate culture. In addition, due to expected growth they wanted the ability to be able to grow without being locked in a long lease.
Action: R.W. Troxell engaged Chris Rogala to identify locations in Chicago’s central loop that fit their requirement. Chris began by identifying buildings that had space in their size and price range that had opportunities for future growth. Understanding that the timing of their growth was difficult to predict, Chris not only looked for spaces with vacancies next door but inquired about spaces where a neighboring tenant’s lease would be expiring in the next couple of years. After narrowing the long list of properties to a short list that fit the bill, Chris organized a tour of these buildings. A clear favorite was established, however, Chris leveraged two competing buildings in order to get a below market lease rate and concessions. Chris was able to negotiate a shorter term lease that allowed for flexibility for his client. After a subsequent renewal, R.W. Troxell needed more space. With the lease of their neighboring tenant expiring, an expansion was negotiated.
Results:
- Chris negotiated a rental rate $2.00 per square foot below the average for the building.
- R.W. Troxell was able to seamlessly expand on their floor and now leases the full floor.
- The building is close to the “el” trains as well as the commuter train stations.
- R.W. Troxell has engaged Chris on three separate occasions to handle their subsequent renewals and expansions.
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“Chris’ proactive approach and tough negotiations have helped our company not only save time and money, but gave us the ability to grow our office as we needed to. Chris continues to stay on top our wants and needs as our company looks toward the future. He does an incredible job of understanding our goals and turning them into actions. He is trustworthy, hardworking, reliable and a staunch negotiator. I cannot recommend Chris enough!”
- Mike Aiello, President, R.W. Troxell & Company |
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