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CHICAGO—The downtown office seems to have gotten off to a solid start in 2017. MB Real Estate just published its first market overview of the year, and its researchers found that the overall vacancy rate sank 83 bps to 11.1%. Net absorption for the year now stands at about 174,000 square feet. That is lower than at the same time last year, when tenants had already absorbed 325,000 square feet.

Leasing activity at the city's first new office towers to be developed since 2009, 444 W. Lake and 150 N. Riverside, has been brisk. MBRE believes the resulting shadow inventory will cause vacancy rates to rise slightly by the end of the year.

Sublease availability in the first quarter was at 3.9 million square feet, a bit of a boost over last year's first quarter, when 3.6 million square feet was available.

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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.

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