CDW, ranked No. 347 on the FORTUNE 500, is a leading provider of technology solutions for business, government and education.  CDW is a principal source of technology products and services including top name brands.  Founded in 1984, CDW employs approximately 4,100 people.  In 2004, the company generated net sales of approximately $5.7 billion.

The company had two offices in downtown Chicago.  As both reached capacity, CDW consolidated them to a larger space at 120 S. Riverside, now called CDW Plaza.  The office now includes additional space for future expansion. 

The company spent more than a year looking at alternatives for growing its downtown operations together in a single location.  They chose the new CDW Plaza, which overlooks the Chicago River, partly due to its convenient location nearby public transportation including Chicago Transit Authority trains, buses and Metra commuter railroad terminals at Union Station and Ogilvie Transportation Center.

The company’s downtown operations have flourished due, in part, to the large talent pool that Chicago offers.  Chicago’s labor pools rank in the top 5 largest for all but one of the 22 major occupational groups tracked by the U.S. government.  Over 299,900 people live in the neighborhoods in and around the central business district.  Of those, 39% have a bachelors degree - 2.5 times the national average; 29% have graduate degrees - 3.3 times the national average.

 “The emergence of CDW Plaza reflects our growing presence in downtown Chicago, where we have had great success recruiting and developing talent,” said John A. Edwardson, chairman and chief executive officer, CDW.

WBC was involved in the site selection process for CDW’s expansion, in which no public incentives were awarded.

CDW’s operations at CDW Plaza, with its prominent place on the Chicago skyline, are thriving.  The new CDW Plaza space houses approximately 950 employees, with expansion to 1350 employees expected over the next four years.