Chicago-based real estate company Amata Office Solutions has announced the completion of its shared office/coworking center on the 28th floor of 150 N. Michigan Ave., concluding a two-month renovation that updated the center’s 55 private offices and reconfigured common areas to offer a greater variety of workspaces that cater to today’s increasingly mobile workforce.
Overlooking Millennium Park, in the heart of Chicago’s central business district, the renovated center blends the traditional executive suites model with the more open office environment found in newer coworking spaces, the company reported in a news release.
“The needs of today’s workers are very different from when we opened this center 10 years ago, and we felt that by investing in this renovation, we were simultaneously investing in the success of our clients,” said Ron Bockstahler, co-founder and CEO of Amata Office Solutions and the company’s affiliated office brokerage, Amata Realty Group. “As one of the more established alternative office providers in Chicago, we’ve seen companies embrace fully open floor plans, only to discover they interfered with the day-to-day operations of their business. This hybrid floor plan strikes a balance between too much and too little privacy, delivering on-demand office space that provides all of the social and professional benefits of coworking without forcing businesses to go all-in on a particular office model.”
In addition to individual offices and state-of-the-art conference rooms, the center features modern lounges with adjacent huddle rooms that can be used as breakout space for meetings and group work; micro offices that can be reserved for short-term use; and a separate workroom with unassigned seating for clients that participate in Amata’s newly introduced coworking program, which offers 24/7 access to all common areas and amenity spaces.
“Millennials and other tech-savvy professionals want to control not only where they work, but when they work, as smartphones and other technologies have facilitated communication outside of regular business hours,” said Bockstahler. “The 9-to-5 workday isn’t going away, but it’s no longer the only option, and the new design of our center reflects this broader movement toward workplace flexibility.”
The renovation coincides with other development activity along the stretch of Michigan Avenue between the Chicago River and Millennium Park, including the redevelopment of the Chicago Athletic Association building at 12 S. Michigan Ave., and other hotel and residential projects nearby.
“We see an opportunity to capitalize on the renewed interest in the East Loop as more people move to the area and stay in all of the hotels that are popping up along Michigan Avenue,” said Bockstahler. “Many of the units in these newly developed apartment towers are simply too small for a designated office, so shared office centers like this one provide a much-needed alternative. They’re also convenient for business travelers who need short-term, professional office space when passing through Chicago.”
