Preckwinkle Plays Agent As County Aims To Lease Building Space
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The head of Cook County government turned realtor for a while Wednesday morning, showing off prime downtown space the county hopes to lease.
County Board President Toni Preckwinkle says the county initially will spend nearly $4 million to upgrade the space on the little-used 34th and 35th floors of the County Building to make it more marketable for leasing
It's part of her broader vision for generating revenue.
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The almost 41,000-square-foot space of the 69 W. Washington building features spectacular views and large conference rooms.
She expects a prospective tenant to pay about $1 million a year in rent, admittedly a drop in the bucket compared to the county's annual budget of nearly $3 billion
"A million here, a million there, and eventually it amounts to a lot of money," she said.
Besides, she says, the county is figuring out what other spaces it might be able to rent out in the future.
"This is just the beginning," she says.
Right now, the two floors of the Dunne building are virtually empty with just five employees working there.
