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Uptick in VC Funding Points to More Office Space Demand

Venture capital funding in the Chicago area and statewide hit new peaks in 2017, a level of activity that portends future demand for office space, especially from tech tenants, according to NKF. The firm’s first-quarter Chicago office report noted that VC funding has been off to a strong start in 2018 as well.

More broadly, the metrics point to a robust office market. NKF cited several large leasing deals in Q1, including Bank of America’s renewal and expansion to 405,000 square feet at 540 West Madison and Citadel’s 418,000-square-foot renewal and expansion at its namesake tower.

Vacancies dropped by 50 basis points from the prior quarter and 70 bps from a year ago to 16.9%. Rents rose by an average of $1.67 per square foot from Q3 2017. NKF’s 12-month forecast calls for continued improvement in these and other metrics.


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About Paul Bubny

Paul Bubny serves as Senior Content Director for Connect Commercial Real Estate, a role to which he brings 16-plus years’ experience covering the commercial real estate industry and 30-plus years in business-to-business journalism. In this capacity, he oversees daily operations while also reporting on both local/regional markets and national trends, covering individual transactions across all property types, as well as delving into broader subject matter. He produces 7-10 daily news stories per day and works with the Connect team and clients to develop longer-form content, ranging from Q&As to thought-leadership pieces. Prior to joining Connect, Paul was Managing Editor for both Real Estate Forum and GlobeSt.com at American Lawyer Media, where he oversaw operations at both publications while also producing daily news and feature-length articles. His tenure in B2B publishing stretches back into the print era, and he has served as Editor in Chief on four national trade publications. Since 1999, Paul has volunteered as the newsletter editor of passenger rail advocacy groups (one national, one local).

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