CHICAGO | Economic & Business Development

[marothisu]

So recently the announcements for tech are Accenture with 600 new hires, Glassdoor with 500 new hires, and now Google with potentially thousands...on top of some other local tech companies combined looking to hire in the hundreds. Not a bad last few weeks of news.

Also, not to overshadow the potential big Google news but here's another

Built In Raises $22M to Expand its Tech-Recruitment Platform to More Cities

https://www.americaninno.com/chicago...o-more-cities/

Built In, a Chicago-based tech-recruiting platform, has raised a new round of funding as it prepares to expand to more cities and double its local headcount.

The tech company announced Tuesday that it raised $22 million in a Series C round led by Updata Partners, a venture capital firm in Washington, D.C. Chicago-based MATH Venture Partners also participated in the round, as it has been a consistent investor in Built In since 2015.

..

The tech company currently employs 100 people across all of its markets and said it will use part of its new funding to double headcount at its Chicago headquarters over the next 12 months. Built In also plans to launch in San Francisco later this year.

[LouisVanDerWright]

Time to build more apartments on the Pink Line...

Back to work everyone, nothing to see here...

[k1052]

Well that should be good for another dozen decently sized apartment projects downtown.

[tjp]

Amazing news! I'm honestly in the camp of people that doesn't think significant office development in Fulton Market is smart planning, but it's exciting nonetheless.

[k1052]

Originally Posted by tjp

Amazing news! I'm honestly in the camp of people that doesn't think significant office development in Fulton Market is smart planning, but it's exciting nonetheless.

The chief argument against this that I hear is that because it's not next to the commuter rail terminals it's "bad planning". Metra ridership has fallen even as downtown employment steadily climbed for the last decade. The area is only transit poor if you totally ignore three CTA lines and two of the busier bus routes in the city.

[Handro]

So with all the hand ringing over the past 10-15 years--has Chicago officially crossed the threshold and become a real tech hub on par with any city outside of Washington or Northern California? The pace of these tech expansions has definitely picked up over the past 3 years and seems to be growing exponentially as companies are realizing the combo of infrastructure and low cost here.

[moorhosj]

Originally Posted by Handro

So with all the hand ringing over the past 10-15 years--has Chicago officially crossed the threshold and become a real tech hub on par with any city outside of Washington or Northern California? The pace of these tech expansions has definitely picked up over the past 3 years and seems to be growing exponentially as companies are realizing the combo of infrastructure and low cost here.

I think it's San Fran in it's own world, then NYC, LA, Boston and Seattle in the next tier. Chicago and Austin are in the 3rd tier (Denver, Raleigh/Charlotte and Atlanta all probably a step below).

Chicago has the infrastructure to rise quickly and it looks like we are finally seeing that.

[tjp]

delete

[tjp]

Originally Posted by k1052

The chief argument against this that I hear is that because it's not next to the commuter rail terminals it's "bad planning". Metra ridership has fallen even as downtown employment steadily climbed for the last decade. The area is only transit poor if you totally ignore three CTA lines and two of the busier bus routes in the city.

I don't think Fulton Market is transit poor - I just think it's transit poor compared to the Loop and that development there will result in a higher percentage of the city's central area workforce commuting by car. You can already see that the developments in Fulton Market include decent amounts of parking, which wouldn't be the case for similarly sized developments in the Loop.

And three CTA lines? I think the Grand stop on the Blue Line is too far away to be convenient to most people.

[Handro]

Originally Posted by moorhosj

I think it's San Fran in it's own world, then NYC, LA, Boston and Seattle in the next tier. Chicago and Austin are in the 3rd tier (Denver, Raleigh/Charlotte and Atlanta all probably a step below).

Chicago has the infrastructure to rise quickly and it looks like we are finally seeing that.

I think what I meant to ask is if anyone agreed that Chicago was finally becomming a "tier 2" city, as you put it. Maybe it's a little audacious to say Chicago is there already, but with the quickening pace of the hiring and expansion of tech companies here, it seems to be happening fast. I'm not as industry savvy as some other posters here so for all I know there are other lower tier cities on expansion/hiring sprees even greater than Chicago (Austin maybe?)

[RedCorsair87]

Simple answer: No. If our tech sector continues expanding at this rate, we will be in a few years.

[k1052]

Originally Posted by tjp

I don't think Fulton Market is transit poor - I just think it's transit poor compared to the Loop and that development there will result in a higher percentage of the city's central area workforce commuting by car. You can already see that the developments in Fulton Market include decent amounts of parking, which wouldn't be the case for similarly sized developments in the Loop.

And three CTA lines? I think the Grand stop on the Blue Line is too far away to be convenient to most people.

Many loop office buildings have their own garages or are directly adjacent to large amounts of structured parking.

The Grand stop is half a mile from Google on Morgan and even closer to the new stuff SB is putting up off Halsted and Green.

[SIGSEGV]

I wonder how much demand there would be for an in-fill Blue Line stop underneath Ogilvie connecting to Clinton.

[LouisVanDerWright]

Originally Posted by k1052

Many loop office buildings have their own garages or are directly adjacent to large amounts of structured parking.

The Grand stop is half a mile from Google on Morgan and even closer to the new stuff SB is putting up off Halsted and Green.

You are entirely forgetting about the fact that the Blue Line also skirts the South edge of the neighborhood as well.

The West Loop is as well served with Transit as anywhere outside of the Loop proper and we don't really build office buildings in the Loop Proper anymore because their ain't no room...

[k1052]

Originally Posted by LouisVanDerWright

You are entirely forgetting about the fact that the Blue Line also skirts the South edge of the neighborhood as well.

The West Loop is as well served with Transit as anywhere outside of the Loop proper and we don't really build office buildings in the Loop Proper anymore because their ain't no room...

You could demo some of the big loop parking garages I guess but I doubt the math would pencil.

[moorhosj]

Originally Posted by RedCorsair87

Simple answer: No. If our tech sector continues expanding at this rate, we will be in a few years.

Right on time:

According to a recent survey from investment management firm Wealthfront, a significant amount of its Bay Area clients are contemplating a move. The firm polled around 2,700 of its clients—who all work at Bay Area tech companies—during the first five months of this year and found that nearly a quarter believe they’ll leave for cheaper cities.

Where do they plan to move? The top choices where Chicago, Seattle, New York, L.A. and Austin, according to the survey.

Wealthfront’s survey found that clients expect to pay more than $1 million for a two-bedroom home in the Bay Area. Compare that to a place like Chicago, where the median price of homes currently listed in the city is $349,000, according to Zillow.

[maru2501]

Fargo season 4 to shoot here starring Chris Rock


https://t.co/6Xl9hiY9F5

[ardecila]

Originally Posted by tjp

And three CTA lines? I think the Grand stop on the Blue Line is too far away to be convenient to most people.

This is just wrong... I work in the West Loop and many of my co-workers will walk form the Blue Line at Grand. Halsted isn't a very pleasant walk because of the hill, but you see tons of pedestrians walking up and down Green to the train...

[marothisu]

2 more pieces of tech related funding and hiring news in Chicago:

Built In’s $22M Series C is Chicago’s second-largest funding round raised by a woman tech CEO

https://www.builtinchicago.org/2019/...s-22m-series-c

We’re thrilled to announce that Built In has raised a $22 million Series C round of funding.

..

It’s a big day for us, but it’s also a big day for the Chicago tech ecosystem. Our Series C is the city’s second-largest venture capital round raised by a woman CEO leading a digital technology company, according to data provided by Pitchbook.

..

Our plans for the funding include growing our 100-person team. Over the next year, we expect to double the headcount at our Chicago headquarters.

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Fashion giant Moda Operandi announces Chicago tech hub, major hiring spree

https://www.builtinchicago.org/2019/...go-tech-office

Some may consider NYC to be the fashion capital of the world, but one of the Big Apple’s most successful fashion tech firms is making moves Westward.

Today, Moda Operandi announced they are opening a new office right here in Chicago. According to the company, the new Chicago office will focus exclusively on the technology behind Moda Operandi’s fashion discovery and e-commerce platform.

Moda Operandi hopes to tap into Chicago’s rich tech talent pool and plans to hire quickly for engineering, product and design roles. According to the firm, early Chicago hires can expect complex challenges in supply chain and inventory systems.

“We’ve found that some of the country's best engineers, product managers and designers hail from Chicago’s universities and startup scene,” CEO Ganesh Srivats explained to Built In, calling it a “no brainer” decision for the company to set roots in Chicago.

“We’re building a world class technology team and made a decision to meet that talent where they already are.”

According to Moda Operandi, the company will be hiring at least 30 new team members before the end of 2019, and plans to continue the hiring spree into the coming year.

[emathias]

Originally Posted by SIGSEGV

I wonder how much demand there would be for an in-fill Blue Line stop underneath Ogilvie connecting to Clinton.

Probably not enough to justify the expense. And it would be extremely expensive because there are complex tunnels there with stubs headed west under Lake. Not many people know/remember that, but they are there because there were tentative plans to put the Lake Street 'L' into the subway. And who knows, if the Clinton Street subway ever happens, maybe the Pink Line would be routed in the subway loop that might create.

You could fit platforms under that orphaned stretch of Milwaukee purely from a length standpoint, using cut and cover, but I imagine the tunnels are still quite deep from the River crossing and that's not exactly under Ogilvie by any stretch of the imagination. And Google says it's about a 6 minute walk from Lake/Canal to the secondary entrance at Wells/Lake for the Clark/Lake station. And I'm not sure who would use that station anyway. People in the K buildings and Riverbend can use the Green Line to get into the Loop, or walk to Wells/Lake or even Grand/Halsted for people nearer Desplaines. It wouldn't help Wolf Point any compared to the Lake/Wells entrance.