When Torque Founder Eric Masi stepped onstage to moderate a panel at a recent Bisnow event on development along the Chicago River, he wasn’t just joined by the six other scheduled speakers. He brought theatrics as well.
Brandishing two mason jars of green water he collected after the city’s annual St. Patrick’s Day river dyeing, Masi drew a direct line between the internationally acclaimed event and how the river and its surrounding developments anchor the city and fuel its economic engine.
Bisnow/Ryan Wangman
Chicago River dyed green
The Chicago River serves as a distinctive asset for the city and for developers along its shores, with bankside offices historically seeing lower vacancy rates and higher rental rates than the balance of the central business district.
It also boasts portions of a riverwalk that many hope will one day connect all of the river’s branches and make the natural resource an even more vital city centerpiece, said panelists at Bisnow’s Turning the River Green — CRE Along The Chicago Waterfront event held Tuesday at Swissotel Chicago.
“It’s unique in that it borders the downtown submarkets, and there’s no other submarket in America that has that as a natural amenity,” said Hines Managing Director John Tomlinson. “You get this incredible corridor where you get light and air and view corridors that you wouldn’t get anywhere else.”
To compare riverside office property to the entire CBD, Lendlease Development Director Jonathon Cordell referenced a report he contributed to in 2022 when he worked at CBRE. The report found the CBD had about 24% total vacancy including sublease space, whereas office space along the river had roughly a 9% vacancy rate, he said.
As of December 2023, the same held true, with a city report finding that riverfront properties accounted for some of the “most stable office product downtown,” with a vacancy rate of about 7% versus the mid-teens to 30% elsewhere in the CBD.
“Historically, the river does outperform from an occupancy and rental rate perspective,” said Paul Purewal, who handles real estate development for the Onni Group. “You’re able to walk out your front door and be in a natural environment and not be in the belly of the beast.”
Bisnow/Ryan Wangman
Torque’s Eric Masi, Kinema Fitness’ Joshua Love, Lendlease’s Jonathon Cordell, Mcguire Engineers’ David Brooks, Hines’ Josh Tomlinson, Onni Group’s Paul Purewal and GI Stone’s Sandya Dandamudi
Panelists clamored for the city to turn its focus to extending the Riverwalk, a path adjacent to both sides of the river at various points in the city, and connect more of its fragmented portions together.
Versions of a proposed expansion have been floating around for years. By getting it done, the city could make the river a destination in the same way Lake Michigan has become, boosting retail along the water, Cordell said.
“We need to galvanize and get that done,” he said. “To fix the Riverwalk [in the West Loop] and connect that entire walkway to our south bank where we have our Riverwalk between Harrison and Polk, let’s just get that through and make it happen.”
Future Riverwalk extensions should not only connect its varying pieces but link with other pedestrian thoroughfares throughout the city, said Murray…
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