OPTIVER SIGNS LEASE FOR 23,000 SQUARE FEET AT ONE PRUDENTIAL PLAZA International Trading Firm Relocates to Full Floor at Iconic East Loop Office Tower Overlooking Millennium Park, Grant Park, Museum Campus and Lake Michigan CHICAGO (August 29, 2007) -- Optiver, an international proprietary trading firm, has signed a long-term lease to relocate its U.S. trading operations to a full floor encompassing 23,000 square feet of Class A office space at One Prudential Plaza, a 41-story Class A office building owned and operated by BentleyForbes. "We are extremely pleased to welcome Optiver as the newest member of the Prudential Plaza business community," said David W. Cobb, president and CEO of BentleyForbes. "We focus on creating a full spectrum professional environment at Prudential Plaza, one that offers modern and efficient office space, attentive property management services, onsite amenities like the newly opened Tavern at the Park restaurant, and connectivity to the cultural attractions of Millennium Park. With occupancy at Prudential Plaza now exceeding 91 percent, we are pleased to see these efforts are resonating with our tenant customers." In the transaction, Optiver was represented by Lois Durkin and Jason Schulz of Holly Duran Real Estate Partners. Prudential Plaza's leasing agents, Andrea Saewitz and Lauren Alexander of J.F. McKinney & Associates, represented BentleyForbes. "Optiver places great emphasis on operational excellence," said Bastiaan van Kempen, Chief Executive Officer of Optiver U.S. "Prudential Plaza's combination of excellent building infrastructure, power redundancy and efficient office space meets the critical requirements to support Optiver's aggressive growth of its trading activities. Further, Prudential Plaza's position overlooking Millennium Park and its access to various amenities including restaurants, the park campus, the lakefront, and the cultural attractions of the East Loop make it a very attractive location for our employees." With the transition from open outcry to screen trading in the world's various financial exchanges, information technology is crucial to the core business of trading firms like Optiver now more than ever before. Prudential Plaza was able to provide Optiver with three levels of power redundancy and supplemental cooling with relative ease, including available space for dedicated generators installed by the trading firm. "Trading firms, both electronic and open-outcry, have very specific and extraordinary infrastructure requirements," said Jason Schulz with Holly Duran Real Estate Partners. "After many months of evaluating sites across the city for Optiver, we worked closely with BentleyForbes and their representatives to structure a transaction at Prudential Plaza that provides our client with optimal cooling, power and communication capabilities." "The building systems at Prudential Plaza are very appealing to companies with heavy information technology and telecommunication demands," said Bryan Oyster, vice president and general manager of Prudential Plaza with BentleyForbes. "We have invested in the necessary infrastructure and maintenance to create a secure operating environment, a crucial consideration for a company that cannot have its connectivity interrupted. These features, along with our carefully maintained Class A status, make Prudential Plaza a standout CBD office environment." Since taking ownership of Prudential Plaza in 2006, BentleyForbes has invested approximately $2 million on capital improvements throughout the towers and shared common areas to enhance the property's tenant experience and maintain its infrastructure. Significant projects completed since that time include: the addition of two new restaurants with a third planned; lobby upgrades; lavatory upgrades; parking garage upgrades; exterior façade retrofit of One Prudential Plaza; and building systems maintenance. This month features the opening of a new signature restaurant, Tavern at the Park, from the founders of Chicago's own Keefers Restaurant. This dining option serves building tenants as well as visitors to Millennium Park and the cultural attractions of the East Loop. The prime streetside location is at the corner of East Randolph St. and North Beaubien Ct., directly across from Wrigley Square and the Millennium Park Monument. BentleyForbes is also planning for the addition of a new, building-top restaurant on the 40th and 41st Floors of One Prudential Plaza. The announcement of a new fine dining concept at this premier location is expected later this year. This signature space offers amazing city and lakefront views. These floors were the home of the famed Top of the Rock restaurant and observation deck when Prudential Plaza was opened in 1955, and then the Plaza Club for the past two decades. Prudential Plaza is a landmark address that occupies a full city block overlooking North Michigan Ave. at its intersection with E. Randolph St. in Chicago's culturally rich East Loop commercial district. The dynamic campus features approximately 2.2 million square feet of Class A office space in two distinctive towers, reaching 41- and 64-stories, respectively. Notably, the property features sweeping, unobstructed views from almost every floor of Lake Michigan, Michigan Ave., the city skyline, the Chicago River and the internationally lauded Millennium Park. Prudential Plaza also offers a shared, landscaped plaza entry and more than 90,000 square feet of signature retail space easily accessible to building tenants and pedestrian traffic from Millennium Park.
About BentleyForbes:
About Optiver |
