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Chicago & Midwest  + Office  |  January 10, 2019
Paul Bubny
By: Paul Bubny

Chicago’s Office Vacancies Fall, Rents Reach New High

Deals of more than 500,000 square feet apiece by Salesforce and BMO Harris represented the leading edge of a surge in fourth-quarter leasing activity, NKF reported. The Chicago metro office market’s total vacancy rate fell to 16.4% at the end of 2018, its lowest level since mid-2016.

Gross rental rates grew again for the quarter, rising to $29.64 per square foot, the highest ever seen in metro Chicago. The CBD vacancy increased slightly to 13.3% for Q4 as a result of several consolidations and the delivery of Sterling Bay’s 210 N. Carpenter St. (pictured), which is currently vacant but 100% leased.

Class A vacancy downtown remained below the market total of 13.3% at 13.0% with average gross rental rates remaining above $38.00 per square foot. In the suburbs, more obsolete office buildings are being demolished, which contributed to a 70-basis point decline in vacancy.


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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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