Here’s the Chicago commercial real estate market’s big secret: the suburbs never went away. While it’s true that office vacancy rates hit the high 20s in 2008, the truth is that suburban absorption never faltered. In early 2014, Savills Studley reviewed all office leasing transactions from 2010 to 2013, a recessionary period for the sector. The analysis revealed that of the nearly 7.4 million square feet of deals tracked, nearly three-quarters of the moves (5 million square feet) involved tenants moving from one suburb to another. Compare that trend to the relocations from the suburbs to the city, which totaled approximately 1.8 million square feet during the same period. The exodus of companies like Hillshire Brands and Motorola Mobility from the suburbs made it seem like the city was the only place to be for high-growth firms. The analysis also showed that firms moving from out of town to the area went to the suburbs rather than the city by a factor of more than 2 to 1: 385,000 square feet versus 160,000 square feet. So, it’s no surprise that the suburban Chicago office market ended 2014 with the lowest vacancy rate since 2008. The 22.6 percent vacancy rate in …
