Currently, the most desirable retail property type in the Chicago metropolitan area is the grocery-anchored strip shopping center. Michigan-based Meijer entered the market this year with at least five stores planned for Chicagoland. Dominant grocer Jewel plans 10 more stores. In second place is Safeway-owned Dominick's which plans five more stores. Marcus & Millichap predicts that grocery-anchored strip centers will sell for $100-$160 per sf, community anchored strip centers for $90-$150, power centers for $80-$120 and unanchored strip centers for $80 per sf to $130 per sf.

The Chicagoland area will also experience high competition from drug retailers. CVS entered the market this year and plans to expand to about 100 new stores over the next several years. Deerfield, IL-based Walgreen's plans to meet the challenge by opening 25-40 more locations per year in the market over the next few year. Rite-Aid is expected to enter the market in 2001 as well.

In terms of Chicago's CBD, Northern Realty Group Ltd.'s annual survey of retail in Downtown's State Street/Wabash Avenue corridor reports that the vacancy rate dropped to 4.3%. Average asking rent is $51.76 per sf. Critical to the future growth of this area is the long-awaited development of "Block 37," located directly across Marshall Field's flagship store on State Street.