Stone Real Estate’s David Stone talks to Crain’s Chicago Business: Water Tower Place owner launching $170 million makeover of Mag Mile mall

The owner of Water Tower Place is launching a more than $170 million redevelopment of the property, ushering in a new era for the Magnificent Mile’s oldest vertical mall. Landlord MetLife Investment Management has unveiled plans for a massive overhaul that will open up the property’s lower floors with high ceilings and an atrium. The […]

From high fashion to fast food, retailers battle for soul of Chicago’s Fulton Market

One of nation’s fastest-changing urban areas is still forming long-term identity Chicago’s Fulton Market has undergone major changes for more than a decade, including waves of new retailers. (iStock) By Ryan Ori | CoStar News | February 25, 2026 | 4:16 P.M. More than a decade into its run as one of the nation’s fastest-changing […]

Former McCormick & Schmick’s space on East Wacker gets a new tenant

A Mexican-American restaurant and bar is taking the place of the recently shuttered Loop steakhouse McCormick & Schmick’s. Espiritu, an upscale restaurant offering classic Chicago dishes with a Mexican twist, will occupy the 10,000-square-foot ground-floor retail space at 1 E. Wacker Drive, as well as 2,200 square feet of adjoining patio area along Wacker Drive, […]

Chicago Annual Loop Retail Analysis – 2025 Data

For the second year in a row, The Loop’s retail vacancy rate decreased with a significant drop to 28.53% versus 29.76% in 2024. Surprisingly, and perhaps a sign that a broader recovery has commenced across the entire Loop, State Street and the long-suffering Wacker & LaSalle corridors both reported significant increases in their respective occupancy […]

River North Market Survey – 2024 Report

After dipping to a vacancy rate below 17 percent in 2022, retail vacancy increased to 17.11 percent in 2023 and then jumped to 20.47 percent in 2024.  While the 2024 vacancy rate is high, a substantial portion of it was attributable to the 30,000 sf former Whole Foods space at One W. Superior.  Now that […]

Armitage/ Damen/ Southport Survey – 2024

Stone Real Estate Research Services has completed its Armitage/Damen/Southport Retail Survey as of year-end 2024, an annual market analysis of Chicago’s three primary boutique neighborhood retail streets. In this eighth edition of the Survey, we examine the fundamentals which created and now sustain the success of these streets. We attribute the streets’ prosperity to the […]