Office Optimism
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Their glasses are half full, but our camera lens is half dark. Karma, we suppose. The Chicago Office Leasing Brokers Association gathered for lunch at 155 N. Wacker yesterday to discuss next year's office market. John Buck Co.'s Kent Swanson and Draper & Kramer's Bill Barry agreed that sales would be better next year (not an insurmountable task considering the '09 total: one). Possibly five, was the estimate. Bill, who represents 24 insurance companies, says even lenders are okay with blending and extending while their clients are still paying. | |
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Crain's Tom Corfman, Jones Lang LaSalle's Bruce Miller, and CB Richard Ellis' Blake Johnson anticipate an uptick in lending, but weren't sure who the sellers would be— the current building owners or those who now own the loans. Bruce said that Chicago's office market had two saving graces: The City's push to draw in new businesses (see: United Airlines moving here) and the lack of new buildings in the pipeline. |
