CHICAGO | Economic & Business Development

[LouisVanDerWright]

The O'Hare superstation is ideally placed to serve both the CBD and main tourisn hubs. What exactly would it change to encourage offices to move back East? The critical mass of business services has migrated West. That's what is what has moved the offices, not proximity to OHare.

Most of the old class C and B office that housed critical, but lower rent, business services has been anhilated in the East Loop. Office is not moving back there because the highest and best use of that area was permenantly altered by Millennium Park. That's the "push" and the pull is proximity to Metra Stations which isn't going to change either. So no, the Loop is not the next Loop. The center of gravity of the CBD will continue to drift West as the handful of times your Employees will need to go straight from work to the airport is irelevant compared to the conveniece of their daily commutes. People don't build offices because travelers from out of town can get to their office from the airport 10 minutes quicker, they locate for their employees.

[ardecila]

^ Good point, I was scoffing at the idea of a large office component on the Thompson Center, or Merchandise Mart-esque tech space above Macy's, but it really seems like a possibility with the airport express.

Maybe the "next Loop" is.... the Loop.

[left of center]

Originally Posted by ardecila

Maybe the "next Loop" is.... the Loop.

What an age we live in!

[the urban politician]

^ I saw that too. Does that have any relevance to the local economy though?

[LouisVanDerWright]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

^ I saw that too. Does that have any relevance to the local economy though?

It just means our local blue Chip Walgreens continues to grow in relevance while GE basically self destructs. Nice bit of follow up news after their Post Office move!

[the urban politician]

^ I agree, the CBD will still migrate west, but this development will at least continue to make the central Loop viable as a place to locate an office. It will give it a key advantage.

Companies do often cite proximity to O'Hare as a reason to locate here. With B37 being 12 minutes to the airport, you suddenly have a location downtown that is just as close to O'Hare as anything out in Rosemont or Elk Grove Village, etc--without the hassle of parking or dealing with TSA once you've arrived. There are also some industries, like Management Consulting, where employees literally fly to their clients every week.

So at least for some industries, this location may be appealing.

[Chicagoguy]

What I would love to see (especially with a completed high speed connection to O'Hare) is if United Airlines were to anchor a new massive tower attached to the Thompson Center. I know they have nearly outgrown all of their current space at Willis Tower, and it could be great marketing to have "Chicago's airline" be located across the street from the new Block 37 Superstation! These are massive pipe dreams I know.

[spyguy]

Looks like a good candidate to move downtown

PowerShares keeps growing—even as name prepares to die

...Still, taking a train and then a shuttle bus to that Downers Grove location is a tough sell, especially for the young professionals increasingly fixated on working in the burgeoning West Loop area. There's also a disadvantage relative to San Francisco, where a lot of financial services tech talent resides, Johnson said. "They're competing against some pretty shiny objects as far as tech talent is concerned," he said.

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Fast-growing Shure expands in Skokie

Audio gear maker Shure has a "good" business problem: not enough space for its expanding workforce.

Running out of room at its Niles headquarters, Shure opened an office in the Loop last year. Now, the company is preparing to expand into an office building it just bought in nearby Skokie.

[ardecila]

^ No, that actually raises a great point. I'm not sure how often United's HQ people visit the airport, but if it's a lot, then United could be a key user of Musk's system and may in fact strike some kind of bulk deal with him for United employees to travel between the airport and the downtown offices. In that scenario, I'm positive that UA would start looking for large blocks of space near Block 37.

[the urban politician]

^ Why would any retail have to be moved at all from B37?

You could run this whole operation from that subterranean cave. My understanding is that it’s pretty huge. After all, it was built exactly for this purpose—to be a huge downtown terminus.

I’m sure if Musk is business savvy he could score some local partners in building out the downtown terminus—perhaps a revenue sharing deal with the owner of B37 itself, and yes I love the idea of group corporate deals to use the express service. I can totally see that happen

[chiphile]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

^ Why would any retail have to be moved at all from B37?

You could run this whole operation from that subterranean cave. My understanding is that it’s pretty huge. After all, it was built exactly for this purpose—to be a huge downtown terminus.

I’m sure if Musk is business savvy he could score some local partners in building out the downtown terminus—perhaps a revenue sharing deal with the owner of B37 itself, and yes I love the idea of group corporate deals to use the express service. I can totally see that happen

Not removed but perhaps relocated to create the high-ceiling grand airport terminal-like architecture. Most good terminals have plenty of retail anyway, but if 3 entire blocks are to be used as airport drop-off points (one for arrivals, one for departure, and one for ground/hotel shuttles), that curbside retail would have to move. I just think it would be awesome to have a literal airport terminal downtown, b/c who else has that(?), rather than the cave be just one thing underneath B37.

[ardecila]

Originally Posted by chiphile

Not removed but perhaps relocated to create the high-ceiling grand airport terminal-like architecture. Most good terminals have plenty of retail anyway, but if 3 entire blocks are to be used as airport drop-off points (one for arrivals, one for departure, and one for ground/hotel shuttles), that curbside retail would have to move. I just think it would be awesome to have a literal airport terminal downtown, b/c who else has that(?), rather than the cave be just one thing underneath B37.

The cavern seems to be about the height/width of the Logan Square stop on the Blue Line, but not as long. It's really not that huge.

However, B37 was designed to bring daylight all the way down to the train platforms. There's a big area of floor on the lower level between Pret and the elevator banks, that is removable and probably will be removed during Musk's build-out.

Again, I think you're overestimating the capacity of this transit system. It will not be able to carry the massive volumes of people you keep referring to. However, it is possible that the B37 parking garage or portions of it could be converted to a dropoff or queuing zone. I believe the upper level of the garage is on the same level as the station cavern, while the lower levels of the garage actually go below the station.

[Baronvonellis]

Des Moines- the next Chicago!! My Grandpa was born on a farm near Des Moines, I've never been there and neither has my Dad lol. Honestly, doing a 5 hour drive there and back again through corn fields seems pretty dull, we need a high speed hyperloop to Des Moines! Congrats on the wedding though! Maybe one day in a Galaxy far far away,,, my Dad and I will do the drive to Des Moines to see all it glory, majesty, and splendor!

[left of center]

^ Congrats on the wedding, LVDW!








Why in god's name are you on SSP right now!? lol

[LouisVanDerWright]

Originally Posted by left of center

^ Congrats on the wedding, LVDW!



Why in god's name are you on SSP right now!? lol

Haha thanks, I meant Saturday. I'm signing off now for the weekend!

PS there's a ton of good stuff on crains right now about Outcome Health, a $100 million IPO, and an article titled something like "why tech companies like Chicago more than you think. I don't have time to post them, someone else should.

[sentinel]

Originally Posted by LouisVanDerWright

Haha thanks, I meant Saturday. I'm signing off now for the weekend!

PS there's a ton of good stuff on crains right now about Outcome Health, a $100 million IPO, and an article titled something like "why tech companies like Chicago more than you think. I don't have time to post them, someone else should.

Congrats LVDW, best wishes for many happy years to you and your partner!

[sentinel]

Crain's is becoming less and less cogent in why they allow guest/opinion writers, and frankly, it's making them less appealing because they aren't reporting business news, but providing a tit-for-tat platform, especially to spread misinformation, that inevitably needs to be responded to, seemingly to just pad their reader base:

Yesterday, a known Trump sympathizer turdkin, Charlie Kirk, blasted the City Treasurer, Kurt Summers for his investment strategy for the City's money, primarily because the long-term portfolio positions favor carbon or clean-energy-related investment strategies (I will not link to the article because I've decided I will no longer do that for Crains; you can visit the site yourself). It was a non-starter debate frankly, only to try to convince readers that the strategy was silly, ineffective and will lose money, essentially trying to smear the Treasurer's office by claiming they are gambling away the City's money by focusing on non-traditional investment opportunities.

Kurt Summers replied this morning, very clearly and gracefully stating the reasons behind his investment strategy, and how his strategy has been proven to provide a greater return on investment than portfolios that focus on traditional and dirty energy companies.

My problem with Crain's is that they are giving a platform to a uneducated, 23 year old Trump-loving, sycophant who's blindly reacting to a something he doesn't understand, namely how clean energy is a better strategy for long-term investment...solely to cater to an uneducated and reactionary section of the populace...they are helping further a cult of thoughtlessness by featuring people like Charlie Kirk.

Apologies, rant over. If you would like online resources that explain how renewable and clean energy companies are helping power the future of investing (which I am heavily invested in myself), I will gladly post resources anyone can use.

[ardecila]

Originally Posted by sentinel

Crain's is becoming less and less cogent in why they allow guest/opinion writers, and frankly, it's making them less appealing because they aren't reporting business news, but providing a tit-for-tat platform, especially to spread misinformation, that inevitably needs to be responded to, seemingly to just pad their reader base:

Yesterday, a known Trump sympathizer turdkin, Charlie Kirk, blasted the City Treasurer, Kurt Summers for his investment strategy for the City's money, primarily because the long-term portfolio positions favor carbon or clean-energy-related investment strategies (I will not link to the article because I've decided I will no longer do that for Crains; you can visit the site yourself). It was a non-starter debate frankly, only to try to convince readers that the strategy was silly, ineffective and will lose money, essentially trying to smear the Treasurer's office by claiming they are gambling away the City's money by focusing on non-traditional investment opportunities.

Kurt Summers replied this morning, very clearly and gracefully stating the reasons behind his investment strategy, and how his strategy has been proven to provide a greater return on investment than portfolios that focus on traditional and dirty energy companies.

My problem with Crain's is that they are giving a platform to a uneducated, 23 year old Trump-loving, sycophant who's blindly reacting to a something he doesn't understand, namely how clean energy is a better strategy for long-term investment...solely to cater to an uneducated and reactionary section of the populace...they are helping further a cult of thoughtlessness by featuring people like Charlie Kirk.

Apologies, rant over. If you would like online resources that explain how renewable and clean energy companies are helping power the future of investing (which I am heavily invested in myself), I will gladly post resources anyone can use.

How is it misinformation if it is clearly published as an opinion piece? Newspapers have run opinion pieces for over a century now, but a well-run newspaper will separate the opinions from the pure reporting. Just because you don't agree with it doesn't mean it's an invalid opinion or it taints the other content in the newspaper. And if Crain's even allowed Kurt Summers to rebutt, I definitely don't see a problem.

I don't buy the Crain's hate, especially with the loss of DNAInfo they are often the only ones covering important local stories about city issues. The public should be aware of innovative and interesting things happening in the city's many businesses. It's often good news that provides a counterpoint to the depressing "if it bleeds, it leads" or corruption/anti-government coverage of other news sources.

[maru2501]

Rahm takes a knock for his affordable housing shortcomings

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/c...518-story.html

[jpIllInoIs]

Not the usual tech office opening or HQ relo we are accustomed to...But i find this trend interesting. Both of these projects are built on older empty industrial land. Both are near the Loop and are intended to serve the high growth population center with e-commerce, last mile logistics. They provide new jobs and tax revenue and accelerate demand to develop other large, underutilized industrial sites.

The largest spec warehouse in over a century builds on Chicago’s history

Scheduled for completion this fall, Marina Crossings (43rd & Damen Back of the Yards) is unique in that, though it is on an infill location within five miles of Chicago’s CBD, it is a massive project on par with new developments going up on greenfield sites in Chicago’s exurbs. The finished building will be 633,000 square feet, with 32-foot ceilings, cross docking, precast construction and ample expandable car and trailer parking, on a 35-acre, rail-served property.

The I-55 Corridor has become an important industrial thoroughfare in the Chicago market. As it extends into Chicago proper, it becomes more focused on two main uses: e-commerce and food processing. Goldwasser sees a lot of parallels between those two sectors. “Really, food distribution was the original last mile delivery. That’s the way we look at it,” Goldwasser said. “Everyone’s talking about e-commerce now, where they need to be able to get to their end user immediately. That’s really what food distribution always has been in Chicago. It really hasn’t changed. The food distributors need to be just as close to the population as e-commerce, last mile delivery facilities do.”

With the I-55 Corridor connecting bulk distribution centers further south with last mile fulfillment facilities in the city, the neighborhoods along this corridor are seeing significant e-commerce, cold storage and general distribution activities. Marina Crossings is perfectly positioned to provide an ideal real estate solution for companies wishing to take advantage of its size, location, access to a labor pool of nearly two million and Chicago’s vast population of customers.

New 316k SF spec industrial building coming to Chicago

Conor Commercial Real Estate broke ground in April on their newest project, Last Mile Logistics Center I-55. A groundbreaking ceremony took place this week at the project site, located at the intersection of 51st Street and St. Louis Avenue in Chicago. (Archer Heights/Brigthon Park)

Last Mile Logistics Center I-55 will be a 316,550-square-feet, state-of-the-art spec facility situated on 19.6 acres of land and offer a Class 6b tax incentive. The building will feature 55 truck docks, 36-foot clear height, 71 trailer stalls and 50-foot x 52-foot bays. Divisible to 50,000 square feet, the facility offers logistical advantages with its close proximity to I-55 and the CTA Orange Line within the South City submarket.

“We have been preparing for this project for some time and we are ecstatic to be able to transform this underutilized infill parcel into a highly functional, Class A industrial property providing convenient transportation access and the flexibility to accommodate an array of industrial users, including e-commerce and last mile providers,” said Brian Quigley, executive vice president at Conor Commercial Real Estate.