Chicago startup hub 1871 will continue to call the Merchandise Mart home through at least the end of the decade.
1871 announced Tuesday that it signed a new lease at the Mart through February 2030 when this current lease agreement ends. The new lease comes as 1871 has been on an acquisition spree of late, scooping up the Illinois Technology Association in 2020 and accelerator program Catapult in February. It also bought Naperville tech center hub88 in April.
1871 first opened in the Merchandise Mart in 2012. It launched to create a centralized hub for Chicago's burgeoning startup community, but it also helped transform the Mart, an art-deco landmark built in 1930, into Chicago's tech epicenter. Motorola Mobility opened an office in the Mart in 2014, and Braintree, which is owned by PayPal, moved to the building in 2014. Other tech companies that call the Mart home include Allstate spinout Arity, Project44 and health-tech hub Matter.
1871, which offers flexible desk space for entrepreneurs as well as permanent offices, says it has over 650 alumni companies that are currently still active, which have created over 11,000 jobs. The tech hub was home to the early days of Cameo, which this year earned a $1 billion valuation after raising $100 million.
"There’s an unmatched vibrancy to this space, and we’re excited for the day when we can once again welcome hundreds of innovative leaders back into our home," 1871 CEO Betsy Ziegler said in a statement.
