CHICAGO—As reported last week in GlobeSt.com, according to a new market overview on the second quarter by MBRE, the office market in Chicago's CBD saw a modest turnaround after a bit of a slowdown in the first quarter, raising hopes that absorption in 2015 could at least approach the robust level in 2014, the city's best year since before the recession.

One of the data points that make MBRE officials relatively optimistic is that they found at least 40 tenants actively seeking 50,000 square feet or more in the CBD. But Sara Spicklemire, senior vice president and managing director of leasing services, tells GlobeSt.com that although this is roughly equivalent to the number of tenants seen in recent years, many of these companies are seeking more space than in the past.

“That has definitely helped with absorption and vacancy,” she says. Motorola Mobility's 2014 move into the top floors of the Merchandise Mart and Avant Credit's recent decision to move from River North into 78,794 square feet at 222 N. LaSalle are emblematic of the office market these days, and how the downtown's core is filling up with many tenants seeking out much bigger spaces. That's one reason she is confident that the opening of several major office towers in the West Loop late next year won't push vacancy rates up very high.