The vacancy rate in the suburban office market continues to rise as companies seek smaller, higher-quality space, putting pressure on landlords to repurpose what's no longer wanted.
The data shows a suburban total vacancy rate of 28.9% in the second quarter, up from 28.5% in the first quarter. In the second quarter of 2022 it was 21.5%, and in the second quarter of 2021 it was 18.2% by signing up you agree to our terms of service All of the 456,628 square feet of new office space under development in the suburbs is for Class A buildings.
In Mount Prospect, the former United Airlines headquarters is being redeveloped as a $2.5 billion data center campus, a process that could be repeated in Hoffman Estates, where the 273-acre Sears headquarters is under contract to a data center developer. Near Deerfield, a developer wants to turn the former Baxter campus into a warehouse complex.
More than 482,000 square feet of vacant office space was removed from the suburbs during the second quarter through demolition or redevelopment, according to JLL.
The village has seen the demolition of Class B and C office space in recent years, either for new residential buildings or for the forthcoming entertainment district on the Schaumburg Convention Center campus.