Elgin Area Chamber Of Commerce: Return To Downtown Chicago Offices To Accelerate In Early 2022, Says New Survey

Press release from the Elgin Area Chamber of Commerce:

February 21, 2022

Chicago office buildings remain lightly used almost two years into COVID-19, but a business advocacy group says the movement toward in-person work is accelerating.

Among top executives of companies based downtown or with offices there, 82% expect the majority of employees to be back in the office by the end of the first quarter, according to a survey by Chicago Returns. And 79% anticipate having workers in the office three or more days per week, the group said.

The survey results come as real estate owners and downtown businesses, in Chicago and throughout the country, worry about how long it will take for in-person work to return to pre-pandemic standards — or something close — after several starts and stops because of new virus variants and other concerns.

Timing of a widespread return affects everything from public transit to the well-being of downtown bars, restaurants, shops and services.

Availability of office space in the Chicago area has remained near historically high levels, as many workers embrace the flexibility of working from home, care for children or look to avoid gatherings because of health concerns.

Chicago Returns was formed a year into the pandemic in March 2021 by business and real estate professionals advocating for a safe transition back to normal levels of activity in and around the Loop business district. The group has partnered with World Business Chicago, BOMA/Chicago and city officials to put on virtual and in-person events promoting downtown work and play.

The back-to-work survey included 68 executives who responded to the survey in the last five weeks of 2021, according to a statement from the group this week. Companies taking part varied widely in size and industry, including professionals in banking, healthcare, technology and professional sports.

“This survey is an important one, because it allows us to hear from Chicago decision makers who have reassessed plans over and over throughout the last 22 months,” World Business Chicago President and CEO Michael Fassnacht said in the statement. “By and large, the survey confirms what I hear daily, Chicago’s business community is ready to put the past behind us and work towards fuller re-opening and greater return to office in the coming weeks.”

BOMA, the organization of building owners and managers, said its own surveys indicate progress toward a broader return to the office.

“Our data indicates that office occupancy has been rising, and we expect that it will continue to increase in the first quarter of 2022,” BOMA/Chicago Executive Director Farzin Parang said in the statement.

There is 96.5 million square feet of available office space in the Chicago area, which is 18.9% of the total inventory, according to CoStar data. That is an increase of more than 13 million square feet since the onset of the pandemic in early 2020. Overall vacancy is 15.4%.

A barometer of major markets by keycard access company Kastle Systems indicated Chicago-area office buildings had 29.5% usage compared with pre-pandemic levels in the most recent week of data, an increase of 3.4% from the previous period.

There was overall usage of 31.6% across 10 major U.S. markets surveyed, a 1.3% decrease.

Source: www.CoStar.com

This press release was produced by the Elgin Area Chamber of Commerce. The views expressed here are the author’s own.