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omcast has signed a significant lease at Affinius Capital's Schaumburg Corporate Center, a 1 million-square-foot office complex about 30 miles northwest of downtown Chicago. The 61,295-square-foot deal represents a major win for the beleaguered suburban office sector, which was hit hard by pandemic-era work-from-home policies and interest rate hikes. The property, located at 1515 East Woodfield Road, had been struggling to fill space after its previous owner, Glenstar, transferred it to Affinius in 2023 due to a $78 million debt.
Comcast will become the property's largest tenant when it moves into its new space in April. The media giant plans to occupy nearly 6% of the complex's total square footage. This deal is part of a larger trend at Schaumburg Corporate Center, where 12 new tenants signed leases totaling 196,000 square feet in 2024, along with 88,000 square feet of office lease renewals from existing tenants.
The property's total occupancy has risen to 78%, surpassing the 68% average for the suburban Chicago office market in the fourth quarter of 2024. However, Comcast's new deal also marks a net loss for suburban Chicago's total demand, as the company previously leased about twice as much space in the area. The move comes after Comcast vacated its previous regional headquarters in Oak Brook in 2020.
