Chicago CRE Professionals: Back to the Office Means Fully Vaccinated

Fifty-six percent of Chicago commercial real estate professionals think being fully vaccinated should be a requirement for returning to work in an office setting, according to a soon to be released Mid-Year Chicago Sentiment Report from The Real Estate Center at DePaul University. 

Further, approximately 22% of survey participants expect that the post-COVID work environment will mean being back in the office full time after Sept. 1. 

DePaul’s Real Estate Center prepared the report with participation from the Real Estate Investment Association and the Chicago Chapter of CoreNet Global. The survey of more than 500 commercial real estate professionals was conducted in June, ahead of the recent surge in the Delta variant.

Tom Volini, EVP with Colliers Chicago, was interviewed in June, but now expresses a greater level of concern over what the office market could look like after Labor Day.

“I just recently heard of a large office employer that has re-closed its Loop office due to a number of vaccinated employees testing positive and growing concerns tied to the variant,” he said. “I think we are collectively crossing our fingers against the type of surge that would cause this trend to gain steam and dampen the optimism and enthusiasm we’ve seen lately.”