Loop Storefront Numbers Prove That Chicago Is One Resilient City
March 8th, 2010 categories: Chicago Info/News, Economic Recovery
No one would deny that the recession and housing slump both hit Chicago homeowners hard. After all, the median selling price of Chicago condos and single-family homes stood at $195,000 in January of this year, down 4.9 percent from where it was in the same month one year earlier.
But Chicago has weathered the economic crisis about as well as any big city. And new numbers regarding the city’s downtown business district back me up on this.
Crain’s Chicago Business recently reported on new data provided by Baum Realty Group that show that the Loop’s storefront businesses are actually doing pretty well, despite the dismal economy.
According to the report, the Loop’s storefront vacancy rate actually dropped in 2009, falling to 7.8 percent last year from 13 percent in 2008. At the same time, the number of new deals rose. The Baum report said that 57 storefronts opened in 2009. That compares favorably with 2008, when 53 storefronts opened.
And in good news for building owners, average asking rents in 2009 rose 3 percent to $60.56 a square foot.
Of course, the report didn’t bring only good news. The number of new storefronts in the Loop paled in comparison to the 91 that opened in 2007 and the 99 that came in 2006. Of course, those businesses opened before anyone realized just how powerful of a recession the country would experience.
The Loop numbers give me even more hope that Chicago is coming out of the recession and will be stronger than ever. They also give me hope that the local housing market’s recovery will only continue.
We’ve already seen housing sales increase throughout much of the latter part of 2009 and into 2010. I understand that the Loop is only one small part of our city. But it’s an important part. And a vibrant downtown shopping district, filled with restaurants, shops and theaters, is one reason why people want to live in Chicago.
When you’re fortunate enough to live in a city as diverse and strong as Chicago, you can always take comfort in one fact: Yes, we will experience economic down times. But the city is strong enough to always survive them.
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