Tech Firms Hitting the Tipping Point

CHICAGO—According to the new MBRE Index, landlords of the 30 newest class A office buildings in downtown Chicago saw, partly due to significant leases signed by tech firms, the direct vacancy rates for their properties decline over the last quarter from 11.2% to 10.3%. The decline was a recovery from the previous quarter, when the same buildings had an increase in vacancy, breaking what had become a pattern of steady improvement in the market.

“That was an unusual blip,” Andrew J. Davidson, executive vice president and managing director of corporate services for MBRE, tells GlobeSt.com. He attributed the increase to approximately 300,000-square-feet of space formerly occupied by the American Medical Association at 515 N. State St. returning to the market. But this new decline “shows that class A space is going strong and it also reflects what’s happening in the larger economy,” he says.