CHICAGO—On the surface, the Chicago suburban office market still looks troubled. It continues to have an elevated vacancy rate, and experienced negative absorption during 2016. But behind the scenes, some developers see opportunity, especially when it concerns demand for new class A space, and have begun unveiling proposals for new developments. Time will tell if this group can secure prospective tenants for their proposed buildings and begin breaking ground.

The market remained relatively stable in the fourth quarter of 2016, ending the year with an overall direct vacancy rate of 20.24% percent, up from 19.86% at the end of 2015, according to a new report from MB Real Estate. And there was 327,562 square feet of negative absorption, which brought the year's total down to 686,468 square feet of negative absorption.

“There were 16 large deals signed in the fourth quarter in the suburban market, bringing the year's total up to 63,” according to MBRE. However, “only one of the deals signed in the fourth was larger than 100,000 square feet: Ingredion's renewal of 114,000 square feet at Westbrook Corporate Center in the East-West submarket.” And the suburbs' average direct gross asking rent hit $20.08 in the fourth quarter, a decline of 2.8% in the past year.