Quote:
Originally Posted by left of center
Great pics Harry, as always! I'm really digging the glasswork on this one, even if it is blue 
I hope BMO spurs more office towers in the vicinity of Union Station. Considering how much of a selling point proximity to the big Metra stations in the West Loop is, it always amazed me that much of the area around Ogilve and Union was pretty low slung.
The skyline must march westward! |
The tenants paying the top rents want to be near a cool amenity - the river or Fulton Market dining district.
I also think (maybe wrongly, IDK) that more of the top executives and decision-makers are living in the city than ever before, so locating their offices near Metra holds less importance to them - even if many workers overall continue to commute from the suburbs. Surprisingly this may lead to more executives driving to work than before... if you're an executive living in the city, you might take CTA but you might decide to drive. Yes, there's congestion, but it's still only 20-30 minutes from Lincoln Park to West Loop at rush hour. Suburb-based commuters face 60-90 minute drives from their suburban residences - that's a much stronger incentive to take transit.
Also, the rise of Uber/Lyft, Divvy, etc have kind of shattered the traditional walkshed boundaries of downtown and allowed businesses to move farther afield without the city needing to invest in costly new rail lines.