Chicago's "downtown migration" has made all of the headlines, but are the numbers there to support it?

1. A B S O R P T I O N
The suburban office leasing market has experienced 3.6% positive net absorption of current inventory, compared to downtown’s 4.6%,
since the beginning of 2010. While the downtown market appears to be outpacing the suburbs through the recovery, this margin doesn’t
quite support the “massive downtown migration” trend often seen in the headlines.
SUBURBAN
do wn t o w nVS
3.6%
5.0%
4.6%
3.6%
OFFICE LEASING ABSORPTION OVER THE PAST 6 YEARS
What is more interesting is looking at the data after stripping out the
top five corporate relocations from the suburbs to downtown over the same period.
The resulting story around the rest of the market is surprising: without these headline deals, the suburbs would be
experiencing much stronger absorption than downtown (5.0% suburban vs 3.6% downtown).
MOTO MOBILITY
604,000 SF
hillshire brands
233,000 SF
gogo wireless
232,000 SF
conagra
210,000 SF
kraft heinz
170,000 SF
1,450,000 RSFT H E S E F IV E D E A LS R E P R E S E N T
Contrary to perception, these statistics confirm strength in the suburban market supported by continuing tenant
commitments to remain and grow their businesses in suburban Chicago.
SUBURBAN
SUBURBAN
downtown
downtown
VS
THE REST OF THE MARKET
For additional information, please contact: Jack M. Trager | Senior Research Analyst | +1 312 228 3514 | jack.trager@am.jll.com
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