CHICAGO- The newer office markets west and north of the city's center have seen a good deal of activity but other downtown submarkets suffered in the first quarter, according to data just released by MBRE. The direct vacancy rate in the River North submarket, for example, although it sank to 9.1% in 2012, even lower than in 2008, sank even further during the first quarter, the data show. It now stands at 8.8%, a drop of 30 basis points. But the lack of large blocks of available direct space meant the district had no major leasing deals so far this year.

Still, MBRE says large sublease availabilities remain. AT&T, Level 3 Communications and the Career Education Corporation have begun marketing spaces with more than 50,000-square-feet at 350 West Mart, 600 West Chicago and 222 Merchandise Mart.

The West Loop also had noticeable gains. “With positive absorption of 159,000 square feet, West Loop Class A buildings continue to lead the recovery in the submarket and the CBD in general, experiencing the largest decline in vacancy across all submarkets,” MBRE notes in their report. However, negative absorption in Class B and C buildings wiped out these positive gains and the overall direct vacancy remained largely unchanged at 13.9 percent.