Record vacancy rates and the high cost of borrowing money are fueling a commercial real estate crisis in downtown Chicago.

In an article about the city of Chicago reviving its delayed “LaSalle Street Reimagined initiative,” which was first announced in 2022 under former Mayor Lori Lightfoot, Bloomberg CityLab reporters shine a light on the downtown’s real estate crisis.
As part of the $1 billion initiative, which was delayed by high interest rates and is expected to move forward this summer, the city is working with developers to repurpose vacant downtown buildings in the city’s central business district. The revamp is an effort to combat post-pandemic vacancy rates, which hit an all-time high in the fourth quarter of 2023 at 21.2 percent. Combined with high interest rates, it has caused commercial building sale prices to plummet by more than 50 percent, report Shruti Singh and Miranda Davis. They write that fewer than five large office buildings sold last year, with deals struck at losses ranging from 50 to 90 percent.
It’s a trend many metros across the country have been dealing with and particularly challenging as cities and developers increasingly look to repurpose office space for other uses like housing and other amenities to draw people back to their downtowns.
FULL STORY: Chicago to Go Ahead With Plan to Revamp Empty Downtown Towers

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Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

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Sean Duffy Targets Rainbow Crosswalks in Road Safety Efforts
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Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
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Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Appalachian Highlands Housing Partners
Gallatin County Department of Planning & Community Development
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
Mpact (founded as Rail~Volution)
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
City of Portland
City of Laramie