By Ben Azulay, Bradford Allen Downtown Chicago’s office market is entering a period defined less by the disruptions of recent years and more by the opportunities taking shape in their wake. Tenants are committing or recommitting to quality space, investors are acquiring assets at more compelling valuations and office-to-residential conversions are removing obsolete supply. Leasing activity pulled back in the first quarter of 2026, with approximately 1.6 million square feet of direct deals completed, according to Bradford Allen’s first-quarter downtown Chicago office market report. That is down from just over 2 million square feet in fourth-quarter 2025. Several notable transactions reflect a market increasingly defined by location and building quality. Global food brand Mars Snacking made the quarter’s most significant commitment, signing a new 169,816-square-foot headquarters lease at Fulton Labs, 400 N. Aberdeen St. in Fulton Market, while also absorbing the 37,672-square-foot former Kellanova space in River North as part of a broader expansion that will bring more than 600 new jobs and $100 million in investment to the city. In its second expansion in the building in four years, IMC Financial Markets leased an additional 104,000 square feet at Willis Tower, bringing its total footprint there to approximately 250,000 …
