Downtown Chicago's Office Vacancies Have Hit A 15-Year Low
By Mae Rice in News on Jul 12, 2016 5:54PM
Office vacancies in downtown Chicago have hit a 15-year low, according to a study by CBRE reported in Crain's Chicago Real Estate Daily. Just 11.7 percent of total office space was vacant in 2016's second quarter, according to the study—down (slightly) from last quarter's 12 percent. Downtown's current vacancy level is the lowest since the second quarter of 2001, when it was 11.6 percent.
Between 2001 and today, vacancy levels reached a peak of 17.3 percent in 2010. They spiked after the 2008 housing crash. Not only has downtown rebounded since then—aided by local property tax discounts on new construction, like, you know, Trump Tower—it's also
This quarter was a good one, in part, because McDonald announced plans to move to the West Loop, and signed a lease on a new space, once home to Oprah's Harpo Studios. WeWork also leased new space in Chicago last quarter, Crain's reports. Kraft Heinz did too, in the Aon Center.
The moral of this story: Though Chicago's social services in have yet to bounce back fully from the state budget crisis, businesses, at least, are having a ball here.
[H/T Curbed]