Commercial real estate insights, trends and news from JLL's Chicago team

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Category Archives: Property Management

How to boost rent by $7 p.s.f. and improve your golf swing

March 30, 20180 CommentsBy Marissa Oberlander

Just six months after acquiring the 1970s-style Class B property at 222 South Riverside Plaza in 2014, ownership kicked off a transformational renovation with the close involvement of JLL’s agency leasing, project management and property management teams. The project has already experienced tremendous success and is poised to add value to ownership’s investment long after its 2017 completion.

Click below for our Project Profile on 222 South Riverside Plaza. The West Loop tower’s $50 million renovation was featured in the Chicago Tribune and continues to make a major impact on tenant renewals and rental rates.

In a strategic re-use of formerly obsolete space, the team chose the back of the lobby for the new tenant lounge, as the former ground-level retail was not a desirable location for a tenant. The multi-disciplinary JLL team played an integral role in shaping plans and facilitating efficient, clear communication around the specs and schedule of construction.… Read More

JLL’s Guide to Open House Chicago 2017

October 13, 20170 CommentsBy Marissa Oberlander

Thousands upon thousands of architecture buffs and urban explorers will descend upon the city this weekend for the Chicago Architecture Foundation’s Open House Chicago, which offers behind-the-scenes access to more than 250 buildings across the city on Saturday and Sunday from 9am to 5pm.

JLL Chicago is proud to have eight of its buildings under management participating in this free public festival. Enjoy this handy guide to our buildings and get to know a member of each management team along the way. Hope to see you there!

AMA Plaza – 330 N. Wabash
General Manager: Susan Hammer

How long have you worked at your property? How long have you worked in the industry?
I have been a property manager for more than three decades. I’ve spent the last 14 years at AMA Plaza.

Describe a “Day in the Life.”
Each day is different with new opportunities, including solving tenant needs, responding to client requests, financial reporting and accountability, overseeing major repair or capital projects, supervising service providers and creating a supportive and dynamic environment for members of the management team. We have a complex business and operational relationship with The Langham Chicago, housed on the first 13 floors of the building, and that has led to some interesting experiences. For example, several pop and rock bands stay there, and hundreds of people are suddenly waiting on the plaza for a sighting. We have had to sneak a couple of groups through the dock because of that.… Read More

Industrial Podcast: Chicago’s changing industrial real estate landscape

May 17, 20170 CommentsBy Marissa Oberlander

industrial podcast

Welcome to Episode 4 of JLL Chicago Industrial – Real Time, our Industrial Research podcast hosted by George Cutro and Chad Buch. In this “live” episode, the team is on the scene at JLL Chicago Industrial‘s client event, “The Changing Landscape of Chicago Industrial Real Estate.” They sat down with JLL’s Trevor Ragsdale, Kris Bjorson, John Picchiotti, Ben Bischmann and Debra Bonebrake for candid conversations on top trends, market outlooks and the latest JLL Industrial news.

Listen to the podcast with the player above or CLICK HERE.

industrial podcast

Our expert industrial panel: Keith Stauber, Matt Powers, George Cutro, John Picchiotti, John Huguenard and Trevor Ragsdale

The theme of this “Pardon the Interruption”-style panel, inspired by the famous show, was the future. On the heels of 23 consecutive quarters of positive net absorption, the Chicago industrial market is thriving and evolving. Some top takeaways:… Read More

JLL Celebrates Earth Day 2017

April 21, 20170 CommentsBy Marissa Oberlander

Every year on April 22, we all get a little nudge to pause and celebrate Earth Day. Not only does the day serve as a reminder to consider our individual footprints, but it also encourages us to think about the environmental impact of our buildings and communities.

The built environment accounts for nearly 40 percent of carbon emissions annually in the United States, which means the real estate industry can play a significant role in reducing the impact of climate change. At JLL, we are committed to delivering sustainable solutions that improve energy and resource efficiency, as well as ensure safe, healthy and productive workplaces.

In celebration of this year’s Earth Day, our Health Champions have partnered with Building a Better Tomorrow, our firm-wide sustainability program, to organize green and healthy activities with JLL offices across the United States. Take a look at our Earth Week social media highlights across JLL offices and managed buildings below!

Celebrating #JLLEarthWeek with an educational waste challenge! All of our kitchen cups, utensils and plates are #compostable. #OfficeRenew pic.twitter.com/eaupAQdkS7

— JLL Chicago (@JLLChicago) April 19, 2017

Prepping for Earth Day at 77 West Wacker! Will you BB there? Friday, April 21st, 2017 11:00A.M.-1:00P.M. Main Lobby #77WestWacker #EarthDay #BBEarth #JLLEarthDay #JLLEarthWeek @JLLChicago

A post shared by 77 West Wacker Drive (@77westwacker) on Apr 18, 2017 at 12:18pm PDT

JLL wins big at 29th Annual Chicago Commercial Real Estate Awards

March 17, 20170 CommentsBy Marissa Oberlander

Chicago Commercial Real Estate Awards

JLL Chicago took home six awards, the most of any company, yesterday at the 29th Annual Greater Chicago Food Depository Commercial Real Estate Awards. The evening brought together nearly 2,000 of Chicago’s top commercial real estate professionals to celebrate this past year’s outstanding achievements across the industry.

As one of the industry’s most high-profile and longstanding awards program, the evening raises more than $1 million to provide more than 3.84 million meals for hungry Chicago area residents.

“To receive this recognition from our commercial real estate peer group is an honor and a reflection of JLL’s industry leadership and our best-in-class Chicago team,” said Dan Ryan, our Central Region Market Director. “To be involved with the Greater Chicago Food Depository’s important work in our local community makes this even more meaningful for all of us at JLL.”

JLL Chicago’s 2016 award recipients include:… Read More

Retail Series Part 3: Getting to know Jim Harris

December 23, 20160 CommentsBy Marissa Oberlander

Jim Harris has the opportunity to help shape a cultural icon. Senior General Manager, Retail at Navy Pier, he is part of a team that’s completely reimagining the 100-year-old historic landmark. “We don’t want to create a boardwalk atmosphere, we want to be a place where people come and interact with the landscape of the City of Chicago,” Jim says.

JLL won Navy Pier’s accounting contract in 2012, retail management in April 2015 and just won specialty leasing and brand activations. Jim came on for the first day of the management assignment and didn’t want to leave. What other property could make him the primary contact for seven boats and in close touch with Chicago’s top restauranteurs? It’s a different world than managing a mall.

This holiday season: Navy Pier retailers do 75 percent of their sales between April and September, which means this time of year provides an opportunity for creative thinking. With highly attended events like upcoming “The Voice” auditions in January and the Chicago Flower & Garden Show in March, we’re giving the off-season a traffic boost ahead of a major retail transformation.… Read More

Retail Series Part 1: Holiday shopping forecast

December 6, 20162 CommentsBy Marissa Oberlander

Hold on to your wallets, this holiday shopping season is shaping up to be one for the books. JLL Research predicts consumers will spend more on their holiday gifts than ever before—a solid four percent hike in 2016 compared with 2015.

Black Friday boost

Holiday shopping

Strolling carolers at Rosedale Center

For a boots-on-the-ground perspective on Black Friday, the season’s first official shopping frenzy, we checked in with JLL’s Scott Michaelis, general manager of Rosedale Center in the Twin Cities. More than 80 retailers opted to open at 6pm on Thanksgiving, he tells us, and Thursday traffic was up 30-plus percent. Sales from key retailers surveyed were slightly up compared with 2015 with self-gifting, small gifts and sale apparel leading the way.

“We see local factors ripe for successful sales with expected gains of three to four percent over 2015. The local economy is good and unemployment rates are low, both indicators of a strong season,” Scott says.… Read More

Did Chicago office vacancy predict a Cubs postseason appearance?

October 26, 20160 CommentsBy Marissa Oberlander

With the World Series kicking off this evening, take a look at JLL Research’s side-by-side comparison of Chicago v. Cleveland in baseball and commercial real estate. The Cubs’ win percentage and Chicago’s five-year rent growth are telling the same “Fly the W” story.

world_series_cubs_jll

Still don’t believe us? JLL Research has also uncovered a direct correlation between the strength of the Downtown Chicago office leasing market and the performance of the Chicago Cubs.… Read More

Open House Chicago 2016 – JLL looks back

October 25, 20160 CommentsBy Marissa Oberlander

JLL buildings under management and JLL employees had a blast participating in the Chicago Architecture Foundation’s Open House Chicago, which offered the public behind-the-scenes access to more than 200 buildings across the city. Here’s a look back at some of our favorite social moments!

JLL’s Guide to Open House Chicago 2016

October 14, 20161 CommentBy Marissa Oberlander

Thousands upon thousands of architecture buffs and urban explorers will descend upon the city this weekend for the Chicago Architecture Foundation’s Open House Chicago, which offers behind-the-scenes access to more than 200 buildings across the city on Saturday and Sunday from 9am to 5pm.

JLL Chicago is proud to have four of its buildings under management participating in this free public festival. Enjoy this handy guide to our buildings and get to know a member of each management team along the way. Hope to see you there!

JLL Celebrates Earth Day 2016

April 25, 20160 CommentsBy Marissa Oberlander

The built environment accounts for about 40 percent of global energy consumption and around a third of the world’s carbon emissions, which means the real estate industry can play a significant role in reducing climate change impact.

In the last year alone, JLL signed the Caring for Climate declaration, pledged emissions reductions to the NAZCA and attended COP21 in Paris to show our support for a strong international climate agreement. To continue this momentum, the firm celebrated Earth Day last week and JLLers from around the world took part in related activities.

A video posted by JLL (@jllnews) on Apr 22, 2016 at 1:38pm PDT

In Chicago, sustainability is an integral part of JLL’s corporate headquarters renovation at Aon Center. A prime example is our LED lighting and sensor control system that automatically dims the lights for a 40 percent reduction in energy, while also providing plenty of light for work. Lights come on when employees arrive and dim when they go home. Whether dark or light, we’re always thinking green.

Check out some of our #JLLEarthDay social media highlights!… Read More

JLL’s Guide to Open House Chicago 2015

October 16, 20150 CommentsBy Marissa Oberlander

Thousands upon thousands of architecture buffs and urban explorers will descend upon the city this weekend for the Chicago Architecture Foundation’s Open House Chicago, which offers behind-the-scenes access to 200 buildings across the city on Saturday and Sunday from 9am to 5pm.

JLL Chicago is proud to have five of its buildings under management participating in this free public festival. Enjoy this handy guide to our buildings and get to know each property’s general manager along the way. Hope to see you there!… Read More

Chicago Skyline Review: Is B the new Trophy?

July 7, 20150 CommentsBy Marissa Oberlander

02_Is-B-the-New-Trophy_v4_blog

LIVE BLOG: Chicago’s top CFOs talk real estate with JLL

May 8, 20140 CommentsBy JLL Chicago

JLL CFO Christie Kelly (at left above) is moderating a panel discussion on the role of real estate in today’s corporate world before a gathering of some 50 C-level executives from across Chicago. The event, which is being hosted by JLL, is taking place at the Eataly Chicago food emporium in River North.

Panelists include American Medical Association CFO Denise Hagerty; Coyote Logistics CFO… Read More

WSJ: Companies doing more with less office space

October 23, 20130 CommentsBy JLL Chicago

OfficeBlueprint

It’s no secret: offices are getting smaller. In fact, one recent study found that the average square-footage-per-employee shrunk by 30% between 1995 and 2013.

The good news for office dwellers is that architects and designers are responding to the trend with increasingly creative floorplans, furniture installations and technologies.

The Wall Street Journal, on Wednesday, took a look at how some of… Read More

Downtown Chicago office market holds steady in Q3

October 16, 20130 CommentsBy JLL Chicago

The Downtown Chicago Office Market held steady during the third quarter as gains realized from new tenants entering the market and the growth of existing companies were offset by an overall move toward more efficent office designs.

This according to the latest Jones Lang LaSalle Chicago Office Insight report, which was released earlier this week.

Here are… Read More

CHART OF THE WEEK: Who owns Chicago’s skyscrapers?

October 15, 20130 CommentsBy JLL Chicago

COWTopChicagoOwners

Together, the five largest owners of Chicago’s downtown buildings own 27.8 million square feet which is 20.3 percent of the total inventory. Tishman Speyer’s ownership of 11.5 million square feet in 11 downtown properties makes it the largest owner by far.
Two of the largest owners – Vornado and The Moinian Group – are

New York Times: Corporate America embraces ‘start-up chic’ in new office spaces

October 11, 20130 CommentsBy JLL Chicago

ModernOffice

The couches, open-layouts and loft-inspired stylings that have become ubiquitous at start-up tech companies and creative agencies are slowly but surely making their way into corporate America as well.

According to a New York Times story from earlier this week, companies including Deloitte and the biotech company Biogen Idec are among those eschewing private offices and high-walled… Read More

Find out how JLL helped Procter & Gamble cut its energy costs by 10%

September 19, 20130 CommentsBy JLL Chicago

P&GHQ

One of America’s biggest companies is saving big bucks thanks to new smart-building technology implemented at its facilities by Jones Lang LaSalle.

According to this article in the Cincinnati Business Courier, Procter & Gamble (No. 28 on this year’s Forture 500 list) was able to slash energy costs by 10 percent as part of… Read More

CHART OF THE WEEK: Chicago Office Subleases

September 9, 20130 CommentsBy JLL Chicago

An analysis of the sublease spaces removed from the market over the past 12 months shows that a majority (56.8 percent) of them were on the market for six to 18 months and the average amount of time that all of the subleases spent on the market was exactly one