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 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 Population2,722,586
- Male Population(48.5 %) 1,321,621
- Female Population(51.5 %) 1,400,965
- Median Age34.10
Income/Financial
- Average Household Income$81,061
- Median Household Income$52,497
- Median Income Under 25$28,636
- Median Income 25-44$62,974
- Median Income 45-64$57,343
- Median Income Over 65$32,465
- Archer Heights Demographics
- Austin Demographics
- Back of the Yards Demographics
- Belmont Gardens Demographics
- Bridgeport 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
- 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
2019 US Office Pipeline – NYC, the Bay Area and San Francisco Set to Deliver 33 MSF of Office Space
April 10, 2019
Since 2009, the U.S. economy has had more than 110 consecutive months of growth, making this the second longest economic expansion since the Great Depression. After a rather tepid 2017 performance, the U.S. office market gathered some steam in 2018, adding 76 million square feet of new office sp...
The U.S. industrial real estate market had a solid year in 2018 and has continued to strengthen through the first quarter of 2019. Industrial rents are on an upward path, while the construction pipeline is robust and development is spurred on by the e-commerce sector. In terms of development, 20...
The 1K Fulton building is located in Chicago, perhaps unsurprisingly, at 1000 W. Fulton St. The property was originally built in 1923 as a cold storage facility for the Fulton market. After decades of use–and disuse–impressive stalagmites and stalactites formed on the ceilings and fl...
Chicago, IL zip codes
Neighborhoods
- Chicago Loop Office Space
- Downtown Chicago Office Space
- Fulton River District Office Space
- Marquette Park Office Space
- Near East Side Chicago Office Space
- Near West Side Office Space
- North Lawndale Office Space
- South Loop Office Space
- Streeterville Office Space
- West Loop Office Space
- West Rogers Park Office Space
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