Vacancy rates have now dropped for four straight quarters and the latest numbers are at their lowest level since 2009.   Could this be a true sign of recovery for Chicago?  Possibly as an uptick in demand from large companies who are expanding continue to acquire more space.  Groupon Inc., United Airlines and Ifbyphone, a tech firm, are just some of the big names that are moving offices into Chicago.  A consequence of this real estate rally is that asking rents are increasing as a result of growing demand.

Of all the space options, Class A space at premier addresses in newer buildings, appear to be the most sought after.  Landlords at these locations seem to have the upper hand for now and are starting to get asking rates without concessions.

The CB Richard Ellis report also points out that Class B vacancy rates for downtown Chicago edged up – a sign that the downtown recovery may not be evenly spread across all types of spaces.

Ellie, Sydney & Nathan join their Dad Brett of Exemplar Partners for a day at the office

Brett Richwine of Exemplar Partners, an OfficeLinks client that handles executive recruiting in the financial industry, brought in his three children: 6 year old Ellie, 3 year old Sydney, and 8 month old Nathan.  Sure looks like they like where Daddy works!

OfficeLinks is delighted to see parents participating in Take Your Child to Work Day.  Every day gives you an opportunity to talk to your children about uncovering the possibilities for their future.  Share with your children what you do at work and encourage them to tell you about their hopes and dreams for their future!   After all, they are the next generation at work!

Groups of people are also affected by design, good or bad. Schools, factories and offices could all improve their occupants’ performance if they paid more attention to the benefits of thoughtful design and interior planning.

The challenge is, while your workplace environment will impact your productivity, crafting an environment to simulate great work is not a core competency for most companies.  Moreover, especially in today’s marketplace companies have not / will not allocate resource for appropriate updates.    

This is all we do:  all day every day.  Crafting workplace environments where our client’s thrive is our core competency.  As such, we’re acutely aware of the value of great design: people working in our spaces are basically “knowledge workers.” It’s critical for them to concentrate on being as productive as possible, on using their time to maximum effect. The spaces around them have to be super efficient and convenient. The office design has to be both pleasing to the eye and conducive to creativity.

Take for example our new Willis Tower facility: visitors sense right away all the careful space planning and human factors research that went into the final design. Even the furniture here is specially designed to be mobile and flexible. Individual work areas can be set up in a variety of configurations. As needs and headcount change, the layout can be adapted quickly and easily.

If you’d like to read more about our take on the 21^st Century office – continue to check out our blog, stop by a location to get a copy of our article or visit www.OfficeLinks.com

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OfficeLinks would like to encourage all of their clients in the OfficeLinks Chelsea, Bryant Park, Wall Street and Chicago office locations to participate in local programs that help those in need this holiday season. Whether you donate a toy, volunteer at a soup kitchen, or send a holiday card to a soldier serving overseas, join in, make a difference, and bring a smile to those in need of one!