54th Edition

📍 This Week’s Lineup:

👔 Windy City Office Trends

📊 Chart of the Week

📆 Events Around the City

🔙 Previous Editions of the Driver’s Seat

👔 Windy City Office Trends

Chicago is seeing one of the fastest YoY return-to-office rebounds in the US.

Let’s take a look at the data:

Chicago's Office Foot Traffic

• Last March there was an 8.2% rise in office visits compared to last year, positioning Chicago as third among 11 major US metros.

• According to Kastle's Foot Traffic tracker below, Chicago had the highest office occupancy rate at 70.5% last month.

• The most significant YoY increase for Chicago was in February, at 19.5%, ranking seventh out of the 11 top markets.

Industry-Specific Growth

• There’s a demand for office spaces within specific industries, notably among law firms and tech companies in Chicago.

• Chicago’s law firms are expanding rapidly, with office space leasing up by 97% year-over-year, and over 1 million square feet leased last year alone.

• The tech sector, despite a downturn in the overall venture markets, is seeing a shift towards reinvesting in office spaces, with some companies looking to balance remote work with in-office opportunities.

• Even with a national decrease in tech office space leasing in 2023, the fourth quarter in Chicago showed a strong uptick, with nearly 43% of the year's leases signed during this period.

Broader Midwest Trends

• We’re also seeing strong return-to-office trends across the broader Midwest region.

• Midwest offices show the highest occupancy in the US, with a 60% weekly average peak rate in 2023.

• Workers in the Midwest are more likely to attend the office four to five days a week, suggesting an increase in return-to-office policies and easier commutes compared to other regions.

📊 Chart of the Week

In March 2024, nuclear energy was the dominant source of electricity, accounting for 100% of the power supplied to Chicago and northern Illinois.

🗺️ Events Around The City

Ask an Investor Anything

• Hosted by Founder’s Institute

• Monday

• RSVP

Blaze Venture Challenge Finals

• Hosted by UIC

• Tuesday

• RSVP

Democratizing Innovation' w/ Inventor of Arduino, Massimo Banzi

• Hosted by Kaplan Institute

• Tuesday

• RSVP

BioTech Fermenter: Chicago's Biotech Meetup

• Hosted by ChiTownBio

• Wednesday

• RSVP

Women In Tech Meetup

• Hosted by Discover

• Thursday

• RSVP

Adaptability & Resilience: Women Entrepreneurs & Economic Challenges

• Hosted by mHUB

• Thursday

• RSVP

Kaplan Pitch Tank

• Hosted by Kaplan Institute

• Friday

• RSVP

🗞 Latest Editions:

#53 - Chicago’s Digital Workforce

#52 - Chicago’s Scientific Surge

#51 - Groupon’s Founding Story 🎟️

#50 - Chicago’s Robotics Revolution 🤖

👋 See you next week!

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