HQ Expansion
In 2020 the entire Energize team fit comfortably in a (maybe) 2,000 square foot space on the 11th floor of One South Wacker Drive. At Energize we have a phrase “we choose to grow, together” and this represents our desire to growth with the climate market opportunity. Alongside this phrase you will usually hear me say “why not us?” At that time we saw the climate market growing and knew that to serve the space with the intention it deserves, we would need to create and build our portfolio services team (EDGE), expand our strategies (adding Growth), and continue to build out the operations team.
Well, almost exactly 3 years after we moved into our 5,000 square foot space on the 11th floor of the same building we just signed an agreement to move to the 23rd floor and take over nearly 11,000 square feet. The expansion was picked up by Chicago Business Journal and through a CBRE press release, found here.
I was surprised at the press’ interest in the expansion, and I thought the questions from the reporters and our network highlighted why this was more than a normal expansion in their eyes.
1- Why grow a climate and industrial technology investment firm in Chicago? I suspect the Energize team will get this into perpetuity- but the market seems to be incredulous to the concept. Chicago is an amazing place to grow a firm, and the city offers a huge talent pool.
2- Commercial real estate is in flux, as is WFH culture. Why commit to an office? The investing business is a people and decisions business. The ability to train shoulder-to-shoulder and learn from the varying experiences of our diverse team is a major competitive advantage you just can’t get over a ZOOM or Teams meeting. We are better together and we’ve committed to 4 days a week in the office. We are also hosting far more people in our office and believe there is power in being a convener.
We have a 2030 plan and a 10-year plan at Energize. We believe the climate & industrial technology market is big enough to deserve and rewards specialists and we will continue to grow to serve this market. I think we will be in the same office by 2030, though!