Challenge

Housing Choice Partners of Illinois desired to either renew its lease, while expanding into contiguous space, or relocate to another building in the Central Business District. However, especially because of the need to expand the size of its space, economics were more important than ever. That significantly limited the universe of suitable alternative properties and spaces. 

Action

MAP Real Estate, which had been referred to HCP years before and had already handled two previous lease negotiations for the organization, was asked to handle the current project. The alternatives for the next lease ranged from renewing and expanding in-place to relocating to another building. Multiple sublease and direct-lease alternatives were evaluated within the Central Business District target area, resulting in a shortlist of qualified alternative spaces and buildings.

It should be noted that continuous effort was made to negotiate with the incumbent landlord, because remaining in-place seemed the most likely path to achieving the least expensive transaction. That building was then and had been in receivership since years before the pandemic. Unfortunately, the receiver conducted negotiations in a way that could only be interpreted as irrational. As is typical, MAP conducted simultaneous negotiations with multiple alternatives, thereby maximizing HCP’s negotiating leverage, while maintaining a strong defensive position.