New 427-Unit Apartment Tower Set for River North

According to this ChicagoRealEstateDaily article, AMLI Residential is partnering up with developer Friedman Properties to build a 49 story apartment building in the Southeast corner of Clark and Hubbard.  The building isn’t slated to begin until spring of 2011 at the very earliest but a completion date of 2013 seems to be a good bet.

Taking advantage of having the Greenway Self Park right next door, the AMLI building’s residents will enjoy a large landscaped roof deck on top of the garage. Amenities will include a swimming pool, a jogging path and dog runs.  Pretty cool!

As long as they keep saving the old three story buildings in River North and keep building on surface parking lots, I’ll be a happy camper.

Check out the full ChicagoRealEstateDaily article by clicking HERE!

Downtown views from Chicago’s Avondale neighborhood.

Check out the view towards downtown from my newest listing at Belmont Lofts, located at 4131 W. Belmont Avenue!  Feel free to contact me for any of your real estate needs.  jeffstewart@atproperties.com

View from my new listing at 4131 W. Belmont Avenue.

Chicago’s Downtown Office Vacancies Have Reached a New 4 Year High.

Downtown office vacancy highest in 4 years

By: Thomas A. Corfman March 29, 2010

(Crain’s) — The downtown vacancy rate has made its biggest leap in seven years, as a sharp drop in demand was compounded by the completion of yet another office project.

The vacancy rate spiked to 14.9% during the first quarter, compared to 13.8% during the fourth quarter and 11.5% during the first quarter of 2009, according to a report by the Chicago office of real estate firm CB Richard Ellis Inc.The jump of 1.1 percentage points is the largest single-quarter increase since the fourth quarter of 2002, when the vacancy rate climbed 2.1 percentage points, to 12.9%, in the wake of another recession.

The vacancy rate has climbed for six consecutive quarters and now stands at the highest level since first-quarter 2006, when the vacancy was 15.1%. During the last decade, the vacancy rate peaked at 16.0% at the end of 2005.

Yet in a hopeful sign, the amount of sublease space fell during the first quarter, the first decline in two years, prompting some landlord representatives to think the worst may be over.

“I think we have nudged off the bottom,” says landlord rep Robert Gillespie, a senior vice-president with CB Richard Ellis. “I am not suggesting that we are on a sharp V-type of recovery, but we are on an upward trajectory.”

Including sublease space, the overall vacancy rate shot up to 17.1% during the first quarter, compared to 16.2% during the fourth quarter and 13.3% during the first quarter of 2009, CB Richard Ellis says.

The increase in overall vacancy is the largest single-quarter jump in five years.

Demand for downtown office space plunged by more than 700,000 square feet during the first quarter, the fourth time during the past six quarters that demand has fallen. The drop in demand is the biggest single-quarter decline since the fourth quarter of 2002.

Demand is measured by net absorption, the change in the amount of leased and occupied space, compared to the previous quarter.

Mr. Gillespie says that first-quarter demand reduction is the result of corporate decisions made six to nine months ago.

But tenant representative Daniel Arends says he expects the vacancy rate to rise another full percentage point this year, adding, “There just doesn’t seem to be a lot of demand.”

More than half of tenants with leases coming due are renewing, compared with just 30% to 35% in 2008, says Mr. Arends, a principal in Rosemont-based Colliers Bennett & Kahnweiler Inc.…

Read the full Crain’s Chicago Business article by clicking HERE!

Photo brought to you by delobbo.com

Know a friend who is looking to rent an apartment in Chicago?

Hey there!  So one of the reasons I created ChicagoismynewBlog! is to help promote my real estate business and to keep marketing myself as a REALTOR® with @properties.  I want to reach out to all of you who may have a friend or family member who is in the process of trying to find an apartment in Chicago and offer my services because they’re basically free for anyone looking to find an apartment.

I would be honored to have my contact information passed along.  Lets start…….now.  Don’t hesitate to send an email to my @properties email:  jeffstewart@atproperties.com

Adler School of Professional Psychology’s major move and expansion in the Loop.

North Loop school moving to 1 N. Dearborn

By: Eddie Baeb Dec. 02, 2009

(Crain’s) — The Adler School of Professional Psychology is moving to the vintage office building at 1 N. Dearborn Street, a deal that doubles the school’s current space and is one of the biggest new leases downtown this year.

The Adler School will occupy two full levels at 1 N. Dearborn and is to move in January 2011 from its home of almost 20 years at 65 E. Wacker Place, a skinny building where the school is spread over seven floors.

At 1 N. Dearborn, a 17-story tower built in 1905 that includes Sears’ State Street department store, the school has leased 100,796 square feet that includes a designated first-level entrance and lobby. The school also will have a rooftop deck and has expansion options for the currently vacant 17th floor.

Adler President Raymond Crossman says the move will be “transformational” for the little-known school, which offers graduate-level courses in psychology and group counseling as well as social justice programs inspired by Alfred Adler, an Austrian psychiatrist who died in 1937 and is credited with coining the term “inferiority complex.”

Mr. Crossman says the move will accommodate the school’s recent growth, to 712 students this fall from 366 five years ago, and also help raise Adler’s profile.

“Right now, you can walk by the school and not really notice it. That won’t be possible at the new location,” says Mr. Crossman, adding that the new classroom space also will be a big improvement for students and staff. “It’s going to be hard to walk into that space and think inside the box. The space is going to be so innovative.”

While the recession has ravaged the office leasing market and burst the construction boom downtown, universities have been a bright spot for the Loop. Roosevelt University recently sold bonds to finance a new 32-story tower, which will be the second-tallest college building in the U.S. when completed in 2011, while Robert Morris University is also expanding….

Check out the full Crain’s Chicago Business article by clicking HERE!

1 N. Dearborn St. Photo from CoStar Group Inc.