The West Loop exploded onto the real estate scene in the last few years with an enormous increase in office and retail space. This is in stark contrast to the previous cycle, during which very limited commercial development occurred. The West Loop surge is due, in large part, to Google. The tech giant announced its move to a 363,000 sf facility in the neighborhood in mid-2013. This created a development chain reaction that continues to this day. The Fulton Market District, whose contemporary revitalization impetus was the delivery of 1K Fulton in late-2015, has experienced one of the fastest land rushes in the entire country and the momentum is increasing.
West Loop will be a forest of construction cranes in 2018: There’s no looking back. McDonald’s world headquarters will soon occupy a 9-story, mixed material building at the site of the former Harpo Studios campus. Shapack Partners and Focus Development are seeking approval or a block-sized office project at the corner of Lake and Halsted that would include a pedestrian promenade on the first floor. Sterling Bay plans three sleek new office structures around the former site of Coyne College. And a joint venture of IBT Group and LAMB properties have plans for a 3.3-acre site at 1200 W. Fulton Market, which would include 1.2 million sf of office, retail and hospitality space. Plus, numerous smaller office buildings and industrial properties are undergoing renovations as part of the neighborhood’s meteoric development.
The demand for luxury rental units in the West Loop is driven primarily by its proximity to the Loop as well as the influx of office space throughout the neighborhood. While the area south of Randolph remains very residential, office developments continue to rise in West Loop Gate and Fulton Market. Since 2012 almost 3.5 million square feet of new office space has been built in the area. Two towers along the Chicago
River, River Point and 150 N Riverside make up 2.3 million square feet, and the remainder of the buildings are spread throughout Fulton Market. There are still another 1.5 million square feet of office space under construction and 1.3 million square feet proposed. These new buildings are attracting major headquarter relocations such as Motorola, Google, McDonald’s and Gogo, along with dozens more.
