Chicago, IL Office Overview
The Chicago city proper real estate scene includes the Loop, South Loop, O'Hare, and Hyde Park commercial real estate submarkets. With a metropolitan population of over 7.3 million people, the economy of Chicagoland is firing on all cylinders and the Chicago commercial real estate market consistently sees strong office space demand from white collar employers in the financial services, engineering, publishing and food processing industries.
As of mid-2017, the Greater Chicagoland office market encompasses nearly 161 million square feet of existing office space, in properties larger than 50,000 square feet. As the most populous city in Illinois and the third-largest city in the U.S., the office market in Chicago is thriving on the robust demand for office space from the various business sectors that call the area home.
Chicago, IL Office Inventory Description
Chicago is a major world financial center and has one of the largest central business districts in the entire country. With a gross metropolitan product of just under $480 billion annually, the demand for office employment is powerful. Over 70% of the office space in Chicago is Class A, while Class B space adds another 29% of Chicago office inventory to the market.
The Loop, South Loop, O'Hare, and West Loop commercial real estate submarkets are some of the densest areas for Class A office space in Chicago, and are home to world-renowned trophy office properties such as 155 N. Wacker Drive, 440 South LaSalle, Two North Riverside Plaza, and U.S. Cellular Plaza on Bryn Mawr Avenue.
Chicago, IL Commercial Inventory Breakdown
Office Spaces
Total: 195,369,308 SF
By square footage range:
- 50k to 100k SF: 8,176,075 SF / 4.18% of total office
- 100k to 500k SF: 48,795,111 SF / 24.98% of total office
- 500k to 1M SF: 58,826,676 SF / 30.11% of total office
- > 1M SF: 79,571,446 SF / 40.73% of total office
By class:
- Class A+: 37,543,017 SF / 19.22% of total office
- Class A: 90,111,626 SF / 46.12% of total office
- Class B: 47,941,258 SF / 24.54% of total office
- Class C: 161,236 SF / 0.08% of total office
Top 10 Largest Office Buildings
in Chicago
| Office building | Address | Sqft | Year built |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lincoln Yards | NEC West Cortland Street & North Southport Avenue, 60614 | 6,000,000 | n/a |
| Willis Tower - Renovation | 233 South Wacker Drive, 60606 | 4,500,000 | 2019 |
| Willis Tower | 233 South Wacker Drive, 60606 | 3,800,000 | 1973 |
| The Merchandise Mart | 222 Merchandise Mart Plaza, 60654 | 3,563,120 | 1930 |
| Aon Center | 200 East Randolph Street, 60601 | 2,687,933 | 1972 |
| The Post Office | 433 West Van Buren Street, 60607 | 2,500,000 | 2019 |
| Chase Tower | 10 South Dearborn Street, 60603 | 2,429,909 | 1969 |
| CME Center - 10 & 30 South Wacker | 30 South Wacker Drive, 60606 | 2,351,265 | 1983 |
| 300 East Randolph Street | 300 East Randolph Street, 60601 | 2,218,838 | 1997 |
| 600 West Chicago | 600 West Chicago Avenue, 60610 | 1,650,000 | 2001 |
Most Recently-Built Office Buildings
in Chicago
| Office building | Address | Sqft | Year built |
|---|---|---|---|
| 150 North Riverside Plaza | 150 North Riverside Plaza, 60606 | 1,178,471 | 2017 |
| River Point | 444 West Lake Street, 60605 | 1,081,702 | 2017 |
| Fulton West | 1330 West Fulton Street, 60607 | 286,800 | 2017 |
| 1901 West Madison Street | 1901 West Madison Street, 60612 | 190,000 | 2017 |
| 900 West Randolph Street | 900 West Randolph Street, 60607 | 91,000 | 2017 |
| 2017 North Mendell Street | 2017 North Mendell Street, 60614 | 60,718 | 2017 |
| Advocate Outpatient Center - Sykes | 2535 South Martin Luther King Drive, 60616 | 55,000 | 2017 |
| 1929 South Halsted Street | 1929 South Halsted Street, 60608 | 50,000 | 2017 |
| The National | 125 South Clark Street, 60603 | 507,920 | 2016 |
| 1901 West Carroll Avenue | 1901 West Carroll Avenue, 60612 | 70,000 | 2016 |
Chicago, IL Green Office Space
Of the Top 30 Green Office Markets in the U.S., Chicago ranks #1 for energy efficient office buildings. While just over 6% of the office buildings larger than 50,000 square feet are LEED- certified, over 16% rank as Energy Star Certified and over 18% are recognized as green buildings.
The Merchandise Mart in Chicago is a stunning example of a LEED Gold-certified building: with over 3.5 million square feet of space, this Class A building was constructed in 1930 and has been updated to today's green energy office standards. As tenants, along with national and global investors seek out green certified office assets for both their use and portfolios, the green office trend will continue to grow in Chicago.
The 2017 National Green Building Adoption Index looked at commercial office properties in 30 major U.S. markets and found that, including EPA Energy Star-labeled buildings, the percentage of green certification has increased from under 5% in 2005 to 38% as of mid-2017. Chicago has placed 1st in this survey.
Chicago, IL's Top Office-Using Sectors
As a center for global business and finance, Chicago is considered one of the world's top financial centers, with the key industry sectors of financial services, food processing, and health care all creating a dynamic demand for Class A office space in the Chicagoland area.
- Financial Services – Numerous banking, financial and insurance companies, such as the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, the Chicago Stock Exchange, and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange create a strong demand for Class A office space in Chicago.
- Food Processing – Archer Daniels Midland, Armour and Company, and McDonalds are all headquartered in Chicago.
- Health Care – The health care industry in Chicago makes a major contribution to the economy and provides significant demand for office space, with world-renowned businesses such as Baxter International, Abbott Laboratories, and the Healthcare Division of General Electric calling the city home.
- Corporate Headquarters – The demand for white collar office space in Chicago also comes from companies such as Boeing, Kraft Heinz, and Caterpillar Inc., which are headquartered in the Chicagoland area.
Chicago Demographics
Population
- Total Population2,717,534
- Male Population(48.5 %) 1,318,494
- Female Population(51.5 %) 1,399,040
- Median Age33.70
Income/Financial
- Average Household Income$74,003
- Median Household Income$48,522
- Median Income Under 25$25,664
- Median Income 25-44$57,801
- Median Income 45-64$51,808
- Median Income Over 65$30,347
- Archer Heights Demographics
- Austin Demographics
- Back of the Yards Demographics
- Belmont Gardens Demographics
- Brighton Park Demographics
- Chicago Loop Demographics
- Cottage Grove Heights Demographics
- Douglas Park Demographics
- Downtown Chicago Demographics
- Fulton Market Demographics
- Fulton River District Demographics
- Garfield Ridge Demographics
- Goose Island Demographics
- Heart of Chicago Demographics
- Little Village Demographics
- Near North Side Chicago Demographics
- Near West Side Demographics
- North Lawndale Demographics
- O'Hare Demographics
- Pilsen Demographics
- Pullman Demographics
- River North Demographics
- South Deering Demographics
- South Loop Demographics
- Streeterville Demographics
- West Garfield Park Demographics
- West Humboldt Park Demographics
- West Loop Demographics
News
The first major renovation of Willis Tower in 43 years is well underway. EQ Office recently revealed its newest plans for the redesign of the iconic Chicago landmark. Catalog is the renovation centerpiece, a five-story dining, retail and immersive-entertainment hub that is poised to become the b...
2018 Office Check-In: Top US Markets for Development, Largest Projects of the Year
September 20, 2018
We’re almost halfway through H2 2018, and it’s high time to check up on construction activity, as well as the state of the U.S. office pipeline when compared to previous analyses. Last year around the same time, we looked at top U.S. cities for office delivery during the fall-winter season, and ...
Last year, the U.S. dropped to last place on a list female participation in the labor force in leading industrialized economies, falling behind Japan. This development marked a dramatic shift for the U.S., which was in a leading position in the late 1990s―with roughly 76.7% of women ages 25-54 a...
Chicago, IL zip codes
- 60601 Office Space
- 60602 Office Space
- 60603 Office Space
- 60604 Office Space
- 60605 Office Space
- 60606 Office Space
- 60607 Office Space
- 60608 Office Space
- 60610 Office Space
- 60611 Office Space
- 60612 Office Space
- 60613 Office Space
- 60614 Office Space
- 60615 Office Space
- 60616 Office Space
- 60617 Office Space
- 60618 Office Space
- 60619 Office Space
- 60620 Office Space
- 60621 Office Space
- 60622 Office Space
- 60631 Office Space
- 60640 Office Space
- 60642 Office Space
- 60646 Office Space
- 60654 Office Space
- 60656 Office Space
- 60657 Office Space
- 60659 Office Space
- 60661 Office Space
- + More - Less
Neighborhoods
- Andersonville Office Space
- Auburn Gresham Office Space
- Avondale Office Space
- Bucktown Office Space
- Chicago Loop Office Space
- Douglas Park Office Space
- Downtown Chicago Office Space
- Englewood Office Space
- Fulton Market Office Space
- Fulton River District Office Space
- Gold Coast Office Space
- Goose Island Office Space
- Greektown Office Space
- Hyde Park Office Space
- Illinois Medical District Office Space
- Lakeview Office Space
- Near East Side Chicago Office Space
- Near North Side Chicago Office Space
- Near West Side Office Space
- O'Hare Office Space
- Pilsen Office Space
- Ravenswood Office Space
- River North Office Space
- River West Office Space
- Sheffield Office Space
- South Loop Office Space
- Streeterville Office Space
- Uptown Chicago Office Space
- West Loop Office Space
- West Town Office Space
- + More - Less