CHICAGO—A disappointing holiday shopping season ended 2012 on a bit of a sour note for area retailers, and vacancy rates only declined slightly during the year. But in the city's South Loop, new developments have continued to rise and new retailers move in. The Inland Real Estate Corporation, for example, an Oak Brook-based real estate investment trust, has just signed a lease with Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Stores for a 16,651-square-foot location at Joffco Square, a South Loop shopping center. Jo-Ann will open the store by the end of 2013.

“Jo-Ann adds a desirable retail category to Joffco Square, bringing the center to 100 percent leased,” says Mike Fitzgerald, vice president of leasing for Inland Real Estate Corporation, which owns and operates retail centers in select markets across the Midwest. “We believe Jo-Ann will be another strong draw and a valuable addition to the shopping center.”

Located at 555 W. Roosevelt Rd., Joffco Square has 95,354-square-feet on several levels. Tenants at the center include Best Buy, Bed Bath & Beyond and CorePower Yoga.

Other high-quality retail outlets looking to attract the South Loop's thousands of high-income residents have filled the neighborhood. The neighborhood already has a Whole Foods, and a Mariano's Fresh Market will soon open at 16th and Clark Streets along with a 230,000-square-foot development called The Maxwell at the corner of Roosevelt Rd. and Canal St.

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Brian J. Rogal

Brian J. Rogal is a Chicago-based freelance writer with years of experience as an investigative reporter and editor, most notably at The Chicago Reporter, where he concentrated on housing issues. He also has written extensively on alternative energy and the payments card industry for national trade publications.