CHICAGO—JLL made a statement last week by choosing to host its Chicago 2025 forecast event in Venue West at 221 N. Paulina St. on the Near West Side. Normally, gatherings like this draw people to downtown hotels, one most have been to several times. But the Chicago-based firm wanted to highlight the potential of this area, which lies just a few blocks west of 1KFulton, the former cold storage building that developer Sterling Bay transformed into an office complex anchored by Google. And participants on a late afternoon panel made it clear they felt the city can generate enough energy and demand to eventually kickstart development in many neighborhoods.

Keith Largay, managing director, JLL, led the discussion, and began by asking Andrea Zopp, president and chief executive officer of World Business Chicago, what the many corporations she speaks with found desirable about the Chicago region. She replied that above all, companies both large and small talk about access to talent. And most believe Chicago provides it.

“It's a big draw for us,” she said. Other cities find it tough to compete with Chicago's stellar collection of colleges and universities, many of which have downtown residences for students, giving them the opportunity to live within the CBD. And the quality of life they find there, and in surrounding neighborhoods, helps keep students here even after they graduate.