Long before the emergence of Fulton Market, local real estate professionals referred to the West Loop as the office submarket between Wells Street and immediately west of the Chicago River. But today some also refer to the Fulton Market area, an area one mile west and across a natural boundary of the Kennedy Expressway, as the West Loop. So which is it? The West Loop is the leading — and by far the largest — office submarket in Chicago with over 50 million square feet of office space inventory. Its proximity to public transportation and wide setbacks along Wacker Drive and the Chicago River offer better view corridors and more access to natural light — key competitive advantages in an area that permits more buildable density than the periphery of the central business district (CBD). On the other hand, Fulton Market has its own distinct “edgy” identity that some area office tenants consider the antithesis of the Loop (recall that the original reference to the Loop meant the area surrounded by the Elevated CTA tracks, the “El,” that loops around the CBD). The West Loop proper has witnessed significant change in the last 10 to 15 years. The …
