725 West Randolph Tower

Downtown Chicago is about to break a six-year office-tower drought. Related Midwest plans a 45-story, one-million-square-foot high-rise at 725 West Randolph on the edge of Fulton Market, and law firm Sidley Austin has signed on as anchor tenant, committing to relocate its Chicago office there by 2030. Kohn Pedersen Fox designed the building, and Related Midwest expects to close financing and start construction in 2027.

Project Scope

The tower offers column-free floorplates and full-height glass with open views across the West Loop, aimed squarely at the flight-to-quality demand pulling premier tenants toward the best new space. Sidley’s lease is the linchpin: anchoring a speculative office high-rise with a marquee tenant is what unlocks construction financing in a cautious lending market. Related Midwest, the Chicago arm of New York-based Related Companies, is among the city’s most active developers.

Why It Matters

Chicago’s office market has been split between struggling older stock and scarce top-tier space, and no developer had been willing to start a new downtown tower since the market turned. A committed anchor tenant changes that calculus. Breaking ground at 725 West Randolph would signal that build-to-suit demand for the highest-quality space is strong enough to justify new supply, even as older buildings sit half-empty, a real-world test of the two-speed office market.

Project Team & Details