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December 12, 2023

Chicago Mayor's First-Semester CRE Test Results Show Room For Improvement

This February, Explore How Real Estate Developers, Designers And Business Leaders Are Planning For The Future Of The Chicago Suburbs

Brandon Johnson’s half-year commercial real estate report card is out, and there are question marks on whether he scores a passing grade.

Just over six months into the new Chicago mayor's tenure, many in the commercial real estate community are exercising patience as the new leader learns the ropes of city government. Several praised Johnson's open-door policy, energy and willingness to listen and engage, saying it bodes well for CRE's relationship with the mayor's office.

But others are growing increasingly restless with policies like his robust real estate transfer tax plan and the failure to make a meaningful dent in perceptions the city is hostile to business and can't get a handle on its crime issues.

Johnson was inaugurated on May 15 after a hotly contested runoff mayoral election in which he defeated former Chicago Public Schools CEO Paul Vallas by a margin of about 26,500 votes. Vallas had strong backing from the commercial real…

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This Week’s Chicago Deal Sheet

Barstool Sports moved into its new 40K SF office space at 400 N. Noble St., just west of Fulton Market.

The controversial sports media company converted most of the two-story former packaging and production building into a workplace for roughly 60 employees. The office features a basketball court, golf simulator, commercial kitchen, three broadcast studios, nine podcast studios and a series of offices, Crain’s Chicago Business reports. The project cost $20M.

This Week’s Chicago Deal Sheet

The company announced in April it would move some of its New York City-based operations to Chicago, including sports podcast Pardon My Take."They were looking at this as a 'fantasy factory' where content could be created, really anywhere throughout the entire office," Jackie Wilcox, an associate partner at BKV…

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As Chicago Hotel Well Goes Dry, Investors Dive Deep For Opportunity

Chicago's pipeline of hotel properties is running dry as the Windy City lags far behind other top U.S. markets for new construction — leading investors in the space to pivot their strategy.

The no: developing new properties. The go: acquiring existing properties instead of building new ones as Chicago hotels become available for a relative steal versus comparable markets.

Panelists at Bisnow’s Chicago Hospitality Summit at Loews Chicago Hotel said the best local investment strategy for hotels in the near future is acquisitions — and their wisest advice is to line up deals now as sellers and buyers begin to bridge a persistent bid-ask spread that has hampered sales everywhere.

“It’s a phenomenal opportunity to enter this market right now,” Nate Sahn, CBRE executive vice president, hotel brokerage and investment said. Chicago is well behind the cream of the crop among top U.S. markets ranked by the total number of hotel projects in the…

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Not Your Father's Campground: Investors Pile Into Luxury RV Parks, But Rash Moves Can Mean Bumpy Rides

RV parks have long been part of the American zeitgeist, but the lure of the open road has traditionally led travelers to utilitarian campgrounds where an element of roughing it was still at play. Now, a newer, fancier version has entered the chat, and investors are rushing to cash in.

Luxury RV resorts with hotel-style amenity packages are the latest segment to capture the attention of commercial real estate. Interest in the burgeoning sector exploded after the onset of the pandemic, as remote work patterns and shifting demographics gave way to new clientele, pushing demand to new heights.

The luxury trend has a “long runway,” according to those jumping into the space. Yet some longtime players caution that newcomers caught up in the frenzy might be behind the eight ball, chasing demand that has already begun to fade as the world settles into a new normal.

“All of the sudden, we’ve gone through the pandemic, things have started to level off, and you still have a lot of investor demand — a tremendous amount,” said Darby Campbell, chairman and founder of Safe Harbor Development. “In my opinion, they’re a little bit late to the game.” Over…

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Chicago Mayor's First-Semester CRE Test Results Show Room For Improvement

Top Stories on Bisnow.com

This Week’s Chicago Deal Sheet

As Chicago Hotel Well Goes Dry, Investors Dive Deep For Opportunity

In Case You Missed It...

Not Your Father's Campground: Investors Pile Into Luxury RV Parks, But Rash Moves Can Mean Bumpy Rides