Chicago & Midwest + Office | February 13, 2019

Quest for New Product Drives CBD Leasing

CBD office leasing hit a high note in 2018, with downtown Chicago volume nearing 13 million square feet and eclipsing 2017’s tally of 10.5 million square feet. Downtown and in the suburbs, tenants’ preference for newly-developed space was a key driver, according to Savills Studley.

“Development activity has intensified in downtown Chicago,” said Eric Feinberg, EVP and the co-head of Savills Studley’s Chicago region. “Tenants continue to make aggressive moves to secure new, best-in-class product, as they strive to maintain growth and attract top talent.”

Yet, the suburbs shouldn’t be counted out. “Landlords are incentivizing new tenants and adding amenities to their buildings to keep existing occupants,” said vice chairman Robert Sevim. “While some submarkets and micro-markets with more updated building product, strong amenities and prime locations are exhibiting better fundamentals, the suburban prices remain extremely affordable and net effective rents are near zero in some cases.”

Pictured: Sterling Bay’s 210 North Carpenter

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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 13-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 15-20 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).