Nearly four years since the first lockdown of the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of empty storefronts in the Loop has surpassed a daunting threshold: More than 30% of the central business district’s retail space is vacant. The Loop retail vacancy rate increased for the fourth year in a row in 2023, rising to 30.13% from […]

State Street downtown has highest vacancy rate ever, but experts say there is hope CHICAGO (CBS) — State Street is a cultural anchor, a shopping destination, and an important part of Chicago’s history. The Loop stretch of State Street has had its ups and downs – in the late 1970s, it was turned into a pedestrian […]

Signature Room at the 95th in former Hancock Center closes permanently CHICAGO (CBS) — The decades-long story of an iconic Chicago restaurant ended suddenly Thursday with a note on the door. The iconic Signature Room at the 95th restaurant near the top of the former John Hancock Center abruptly closed for good on Thursday, citing “severe […]

Stone Real Estate has completed its 2022 Armitage/Damen/Southport Retail Survey, an annual market analysis of Chicago’s three primary boutique neighborhood retail streets. In this sixth edition of the Survey, the data shows a mixed bag for these three corridors in 2022 and identifies their disparate leasing trajectories as follows: 1) Armitage remains the heavyweight followed […]

Chicago’s River North trade area vacancy rate dropped to 16.96% in 2022, down from 19.13% in 2021. River North bucked the trend of its Loop and Magnificent Mile neighbors with this improved market condition. Noah O’Neill, principal of Stone Real Estate Corp and co-author of Stone Real Estate’s River North Retail Analysis, sees the area’s […]

American Cities Are Starting to Thrive Again. Just Not Near Office Buildings. Neighborhoods are benefiting from remote work By Konrad Putzier  and Kate King May 30, 2023 12:01 am ET As people spend more time at home, they frequent local shops, gyms and restaurants, boosting the economy of places such as Washington, D.C.’s Georgetown. PHOTO: PHOTO: AL DRAGO/BLOOMBERG NEWS […]

Damen Avenue in Bucktown attracts more service retailers | Crain’s Chicago Business A stretch of Damen Avenue in the Bucktown neighborhood once known for attracting trendy clothing stores and restaurants is becoming a magnet for service retailers. The former home of Mindy’s Hot Chocolate is going to be an early childhood education center; a veterinary […]

A Bucktown corridor, once a trendy retail magnet, transforms as consumer tastes change ALLY MAROTTI 3/30/23, 2:55 PM Damen Avenue in Bucktown attracts more service retailers | Crain’s Chicago Business A Bond Vet location in New York. The veterinary clinic chain plans to open a Bucktown outpost in the next few months. A stretch of […]

CHICAGO (WLS) — Vacancy rates in the Loop and the Magnificent Mile are up, but the I-Team is finding bright spots and reasons to be optimistic about Chicago’s retail future. “I’m hoping some new stores will come in,” a Mag Mile shopper said. “It doesn’t look good, it doesn’t look pretty,” remarked her friend. The corridor […]