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Old Posted Oct 23, 2020, 7:06 PM
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ardecila ardecila is offline
TL;DR
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: the city o'wind
Posts: 16,356
Quote:
Originally Posted by vexxed82 View Post
I'm good at taking photos of architecture, but understanding its associated real estate is not my forte.

Can someone explain to me how/why developers are planning on building any new office towers in this environment? With all the new office space coming online (110, BMO, Salesforce, Post Office, etc.) and how our society has successfully (not in all cases, obviously) learned to work from home, what's the rush to build new office space before knowing what the future work environment will look like?
In a competitive market like Chicago, every developer is looking for an advantage, or a *potential* advantage over rivals. If the office market starts to rebound, and if this developer is in position to break ground immediately, they have a huge advantage. Other developers will not be able to match this head start.

A groundbreaking in late 2021 is likely after the pandemic is effectively over, we should have widespread and available vaccinations by that time. It may be late enough for the developers to assess the office market and have enough information to pull the trigger or not. This only works if they already have their ducks in a row.

If you're skeptical the office market will actually rebound post-Covid, you're not alone... but in a properly functioning market there's always a few people who are betting against the conventional wisdom. Occasionally they strike it big.
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