CHICAGO | Economic & Business Development

[left of center]

One of my initial concerns about locating the Quantum Campus on the former Solo site is its proximity to Indiana. I hope Illinois’ investment and tax dollars don’t end up disproportionately benefiting NWI. Some spillover is probably unavoidable if quantum computing takes off, but ideally Illinois retains the majority of the economic activity.

With University of Chicago about four miles north as the crow flies, it seems likely that firms and employees would prefer to cluster closer to that ecosystem as development expands around and outward from the campus.

That said, very cool to see this kind of tech investment and momentum happening in the city!

[SIGSEGV]

I was surprised to learn recently from a colleague that Indiana and Illinois don't have income tax reciprocity so people living in Indiana but working in Illinois (and vice versa) have to pay income Illinois taxes and possibly Indiana taxes in many cases. That makes crossing state lines a bit more complicated...

[VKChaz]

Originally Posted by ebitdadada

And... more today

West Coast tech firm eyes big Chicago office expansion
By Danny Ecker April 30, 2026 01:44 PM CDT

A West Coast data and artificial intelligence company is beefing up its workspace in Chicago, a promising tech sector win for the depressed local office market and one of two new leases being finalized at a 60-story Loop tower.

San Francisco-based Databricks is poised to lease about 50,000 square feet in the Franklin office building at 227 W. Monroe St., according to sources familiar with the matter. The company would relocate and dramatically expand from offices it occupies today across the street in co-working operator Convene at 311 W. Monroe St.

....

If Databricks’ local growth signals what’s ahead for burgeoning AI companies seeking a Chicago presence, the tech industry could help rescue a downtown office market that has more vacant space than ever before.

https://www.chicagobusiness.com/real-est...alliant-office-leases-franklin-20260430/

From the company site, appear to be mostly customer-facing openings in IL. Makes sense as Chicago is a good location to cover the Midwest. Ideally, would like to see more in the core product and engineering functions as well. If there really is a SaaSpocalypse, you may see a bit of churn as businesses simply shift spending from one solution to another.

[IrishIllini]

Move if not the place to post, but: https://www.chicagobusiness.com/economy/ccb-chicago-population-growth-census-20260514/



The city gets a lot of positive attention on TikTok. Younger Millennials ("90s kids") and Gen Z hype it quite a bit. Rent is skyrocketing. Construction is limited. Seems like the time to get aggressive on new construction...

[DCReid]

The downtown Chicago office construction pipeline is completely empty for the first time since 2012 after Fulton St. Cos. delivered 919 W. Fulton earlier this year, according to Newmark. It could be some time until cranes rumble to life again, panelists said at Bisnow’s Chicago Office Leasing, Acquisition and Development Summit on May 13...

https://www.bisnow.com/chicago/news/offi...ero-for-the-first-time-since-2012-134648

[sentinel]

Originally Posted by DCReid

The downtown Chicago office construction pipeline is completely empty for the first time since 2012 after Fulton St. Cos. delivered 919 W. Fulton earlier this year, according to Newmark. It could be some time until cranes rumble to life again, panelists said at Bisnow’s Chicago Office Leasing, Acquisition and Development Summit on May 13...

https://www.bisnow.com/chicago/news/offi...ero-for-the-first-time-since-2012-134648

In other news: water is wet.

I feel like you only post in this thread when you want to highlight something negative about Chicago.

[ebitdadada]

Some happy news to start the long weekend.

Crains
Stripe inks massive Chicago office lease expansion
By
Danny Ecker
July 01, 2026 09:42 AM CDT

https://www.chicagobusiness.com/real-est...tripe-office-lease-river-north-20260701/

Online payments company Stripe is adding more than 130,000 square feet to its River North office, completing one of the biggest downtown workspace expansions in years and providing a major boost to a local office market still reeling from the post-pandemic downsizing trend.

The San Francisco-based company has signed a new lease for more than 222,000 square feet in the office building at 350 N. Orleans St., according to sources familiar with the property. Stripe will occupy the new space in phases over the next couple years, increasing from the roughly 89,000 square feet it leases in the building today.

[OrdoSeclorum]

Originally Posted by ebitdadada

Some happy news to start the long weekend.

Crains
Stripe inks massive Chicago office lease expansion
By
Danny Ecker
July 01, 2026 09:42 AM CDT

https://www.chicagobusiness.com/real-est...tripe-office-lease-river-north-20260701/

Online payments company Stripe is adding more than 130,000 square feet to its River North office, completing one of the biggest downtown workspace expansions in years and providing a major boost to a local office market still reeling from the post-pandemic downsizing trend.

The San Francisco-based company has signed a new lease for more than 222,000 square feet in the office building at 350 N. Orleans St., according to sources familiar with the property. Stripe will occupy the new space in phases over the next couple years, increasing from the roughly 89,000 square feet it leases in the building today.

Very cool. I remember Patrick Collison touring Chicago about a year ago and sounding pretty impressed with it on Twitter. Cool company.

[twister244]

Some other news, that may or may not be good depending on if you own a home or are looking to buy...... The Chicago area continues to buck national trends.


https://www.chicagobusiness.com/real-est...hicago-housing-market-may-data-20260630/

In Chicago, the median price of homes sold in May was up 7.7% from the same time last year, according to data released June 25 by Illinois Realtors.

Compare the vigor in those figures to the nationwide data released by the National Association of Realtors earlier in the month. The median price of existing homes sold in May was up 1.3% from the same time in 2025.

And before you go thinking we share this trend with coastal cities.....

Chicago’s home prices grew by 6.5% in April, according to today’s report. The city with the next-highest growth is New York, where prices rose 3.8% in April, according to the index.

Interesting trends.... Again, in my area in Logan Square, lots of new construction.... rehabs... etc. It will also be interesting to see if this can start pushing some upwards pressure on condo development in the city if supply is running short. No idea if that would be enough pressure to squeeze out some highrises, but something to keep an eye on.