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: 194,617,832 SF
By square footage range:
- 50k to 100k SF: 8,233,050 SF / 4.23% of total office
- 100k to 500k SF: 48,307,827 SF / 24.82% of total office
- 500k to 1M SF: 59,429,459 SF / 30.54% of total office
- > 1M SF: 78,647,496 SF / 40.41% of total office
By class:
- Class A+: 37,808,510 SF / 19.43% of total office
- Class A: 88,278,532 SF / 45.36% of total office
- Class B: 48,034,327 SF / 24.68% of total office
- Class C: 263,736 SF / 0.14% 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 | 3,850,000 | 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 | 300 East Randolph Street, 60601 | 2,218,838 | 1997 |
| The Richard J. Daley Center | 50 West Washington Street, 60602 | 1,593,714 | 1965 |
Most Recently-Built Office Buildings
in Chicago
| Office building | Address | Sqft | Year built |
|---|---|---|---|
| 150 North Riverside | 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 | 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 | 527,000 | 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
- Avondale Demographics
- Back of the Yards Demographics
- Bridgeport Demographics
- Brighton Park Demographics
- Bucktown Demographics
- Chicago Loop Demographics
- Cragin Demographics
- Downtown Chicago Demographics
- Fulton Market Demographics
- Fulton River District Demographics
- Garfield Ridge Demographics
- Goose Island Demographics
- Heart of Chicago Demographics
- Lakeview Demographics
- Little Village Demographics
- Logan Square Demographics
- Near North Side Chicago Demographics
- Near West Side Demographics
- North Lawndale Demographics
- O'Hare Demographics
- Pilsen Demographics
- River North Demographics
- South Loop Demographics
- Streeterville Demographics
- West Loop Demographics
- West Town Demographics
News
The Chicago office market is having a fruitful first half of the year, with the combined sales volume in Q1 and Q2 already surpassing last year’s overall performance, and totaling roughly $3.3 billion through June. According to data from Yardi Matrix, the dollar volume in the second quarter was ...
Traditional employment continues to fall short of meeting the needs of modern employees nationwide, and skilled innovative professionals choose to leave the traditional workforce and strike out on their own. Chi-town is certainly no exception. Whether it’s part-time or full-time, more and more “...
Chicago-based Golub & Co. announced that it is looking to expand its U.S. presence by establishing a second corporate location. The international real estate investment and development firm will open a regional office space in Denver, where operations will focus on acquisitions of office and...
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
- 60618 Office Space
- 60620 Office Space
- 60621 Office Space
- 60622 Office Space
- 60624 Office Space
- 60625 Office Space
- 60628 Office Space
- 60631 Office Space
- 60640 Office Space
- 60642 Office Space
- 60646 Office Space
- 60654 Office Space
- 60656 Office Space
- 60657 Office Space
- 60661 Office Space
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Neighborhoods
- Andersonville Office Space
- Avondale Office Space
- Bronzeville Office Space
- Bucktown Office Space
- Chicago Loop Office Space
- Dearborn Office Space
- Douglas Park Office Space
- Downtown Chicago Office Space
- East Garfield Park 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
- Roscoe Village Office Space
- Sheffield Office Space
- South Loop Office Space
- Streeterville Office Space
- West Loop Office Space
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