CHICAGO, Jan. 9, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The Howard Hughes Corporation® (NYSE: HHC) and Riverside Investment and Development announced today that José Andrés' ThinkFoodGroup, together with Chicago's own Gibsons Restaurant Group, has signed a 17,200-square-foot lease at 110 North Wacker Drive, the new trophy-class office tower in downtown Chicago. The group will be opening a veritable dining destination with multiple concepts, including a fine dining restaurant and an elevated cocktail bar experience, as well as providing catering for the building's 10,000-square-foot event space.
This joint venture represents an unprecedented pairing of Gibsons Restaurant Group's Lombardo family with the two-Michelin star Chef Andrés, combining the culinary ingenuity of his ThinkFoodGroup with the local operational expertise of the Gibsons team.
"We are thrilled to partner with José Andrés, his ThinkFoodGroup, and the Gibsons Restaurant Group as we continue to set a new standard for development and see overwhelming market and tenant demand at 110 North Wacker Drive," said Paul Layne, CEO of The Howard Hughes Corporation. "The Gibsons team has been setting the standard for steakhouses in Chicago for decades and José Andrés is an award-winning chef as well as an incredible humanitarian—together the team will bring an array of exceptional new culinary experiences to one of the best cities for food in the country."
"The Chicago food scene is one of the best in the world, and we are excited to partner with the Lombardo family and Gibsons group, especially in this great new destination in the heart of the city," said Andrés.
Today's tenants consider restaurants to be among the most important amenities and the joint venture will offer a full range of options designed to exceed the expectations of everyone that walks through the door of 110 North Wacker Drive. From café and coffee to cocktails, fine dining and catering, all culinary experiences will be available.
"From the initial concepts, we saw this partnership not only as a signature restaurant opportunity, but as an exciting and dynamic food and beverage solution for the building," added Jim McCaffrey, Senior Vice President of Development for The Howard Hughes Corporation. "Each of the new venues—our restaurants and our 400-person event space—are designed as soaring spaces with river views, floor to ceiling windows, operable walls for indoor-outdoor space and connectivity to our boat dock on the Chicago River."
"The opportunity to partner with Chef José Andrés and ThinkFoodGroup in our home city in a sensational new building on the river is exciting, and we think it's a natural, complementary partnership that will result in fantastic new dining experiences for Chicagoans," said Steve Lombardo of Gibsons Restaurant Group.
John O'Donnell, CEO of Riverside Investment and Development added, "We are committed to delivering first-class buildings that are efficient, technologically advanced and designed to enhance the tenant experience. José Andrés and Gibsons are a best-in-class team and will certainly further these efforts."
Situated along the Chicago River, 110 North Wacker Drive is both the city's tallest office building and the second largest office building to be delivered in three decades. The new restaurants and event space, together with the state-of-the-art fitness facilities, concierge program and other amenities, will create an unparalleled tenant experience. The highly anticipated, 1.5-million-square-foot trophy-class tower situated along the Chicago River in the West Loop is now 74 percent preleased and scheduled to open in October of 2020. Anchor tenants include Bank of America, Jones Day, Perkins Coie, Morgan Lewis, Lincoln International, No.18 and King & Spalding. John Vance of Stone Real Estate represented the developers of the Class-A+ building.
Additional project and leasing information for the 1.5-million-square-foot tower, a collaboration led by The Howard Hughes Corporation and Riverside Investment and Development—along with the award-winning teams of Goettsch Partners for design, Clark Construction, and CBRE—is available at www.110NorthWacker.com.
About The Howard Hughes Corporation® The Howard Hughes Corporation owns, manages and develops commercial, residential and mixed-use real estate throughout the U.S. Its award-winning assets include the country's preeminent portfolio of master planned communities, as well as operating properties and development opportunities including: the Seaport District in New York; Columbia, Maryland; The Woodlands®, The Woodlands Hills®, and Bridgeland® in the Greater Houston, Texas area; Summerlin®, Las Vegas; and Ward Village® in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi. The Howard Hughes Corporation's portfolio is strategically positioned to meet and accelerate development based on market demand, resulting in one of the strongest real estate platforms in the country. Dedicated to innovative placemaking, the company is recognized for its ongoing commitment to design excellence and to the cultural life of its communities. The Howard Hughes Corporation is traded on the New York Stock Exchange as HHC. For additional information visit www.howardhughes.com.
About ThinkFoodGroup and José Andrés Founded by Chef José Andrés and his partner Rob Wilder, ThinkFoodGroup is the creative team responsible for renowned dining concepts in Washington, D.C., Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, the Bahamas, and most recently in Orlando and New York City. The nearly three dozen restaurants share a variety of culinary experiences that span from food trucks to world-class tasting menus, including two with two Michelin stars: minibar by José Andrés in Washington, D.C., and Somni at the SLS Beverly Hills.
Twice named one of Time's "100 Most Influential People," and awarded "Outstanding Chef" and "Humanitarian of the Year" by the James Beard Foundation as well as the inaugural "American Express Icon Award" by the World's 50 Best Restaurants, José Andrés is an internationally recognized culinary innovator, New York Times bestselling author, educator, television personality, humanitarian, and chef and owner of ThinkFoodGroup. For more information, visitwww.thinkfoodgroup.com.
About Gibsons Restaurant Group Gibsons Restaurant Group (GRG) began in 1989 with the founding of Chicago's iconic Gibsons Bar & Steakhouse on Rush Street by Steve Lombardo and Hugo Ralli. With the core philosophy of providing the best hospitality, quality and value to its customers, Gibsons quickly became one of the top restaurants in Chicago. Today, GRG operates 14 locations in 4 states and 9 distinguished concepts, including Gibsons Bar & Steakhouse, Hugo's Frog Bar & Fish House, LUXBAR, Quartino Ristorante & Wine Bar, Gibsons Italia and The BOATHOUSE. Seven GRG restaurants are in the top 100 highest-grossing in the United States, according to Restaurant Business Magazine. In addition, GRG manages premier independent restaurants including RL Restaurant in Chicago on behalf of Ralph Lauren, ChiSox Bar & Grill on behalf of the Chicago White Sox and Hugo's Frog Bar & Chop House on behalf of Rivers Casino and SugarHouse Casino.
About Riverside Investment and Development Riverside Investment and Development Company is a multi-faceted real estate firm based out of Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 2010 by John O'Donnell, a longtime Chicago real estate veteran with more than 30 years and 40 million square feet of investment, development, and redevelopment experience, Riverside is focused on the pursuit of complex development and redevelopment opportunities. We aggressively manage risk via detailed front-end evaluation and planning, selective locational focus, and a willingness to form strategic relationships where appropriate for a particular transaction. Our relationships, which have been carefully cultivated over years of experience with local and national consultants, brokers, and other stakeholders. For additional information, visit www.RiversideID.com.
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