After years of walking past dark display windows, downtown pedestrians finally had a little less glass to stare through in 2025. Loop retail vacancy ticked down for a second straight year to 28.53%, helped along by a few splashy leases and a crop of new restaurants stepping into long-empty spaces. It is a baby step, not a boom – in some stretches, roughly one in four storefronts is still empty – but it breaks the steady climb in vacancies that followed the pandemic.
Vacancy Edges Down, But Market Still Looks Wobbly
According to Crain's Chicago Business, which reviewed data from a market tally, the Loop's retail vacancy rate slipped to about 28.53% in 2025 from roughly 29.76% in 2024. The central Loop, including the key State Street stretch, saw a stronger bump as a few big leases filled high-profile flagship spaces that had sat empty.
State Street Scores With Big-Name Bookstore
One of the biggest wins landed on State Street, where Barnes & Noble confirmed plans for a large, multilevel flagship in the former Old Navy space. WBEZ reported that the bookstore is expected to be a major foot-traffic magnet for the corridor, a welcome shift for a stretch that has watched more than its share of closures.
Gap Factory And Food Tenants Plug Empty Fronts
The rest of the retail action has been quieter but still meaningful. Value apparel and restaurant concepts have been filling in holes along State and the LaSalle/Wacker corridor, including a Gap Factory lease that stepped into a former Express space. Market notes from Stone Real Estate highlight openings such as a neighborhood butcher at 222 N. LaSalle and new eateries at the base of Willis Tower as steady contributors to the submarket's gains.
Michigan Avenue Still Looking Patchy
Other stretches are not feeling quite so upbeat. Vacancy along the Michigan Avenue segment of the Loop has worsened in spots, especially after a CVS at 300 S. Michigan Ave. shut its doors. Crain's Chicago Business noted that loss as a key reason the corridor's vacancy rate remains stubbornly high while other blocks start to heal. The outlet quoted Stone Real Estate principal John Vance as saying, "I do think that there's been a bottom that has been hit."
Why Brokers Say A Turnaround Is Not A Done Deal
Whether this is a real rebound or just a brief rally still depends heavily on workers coming back to downtown offices and on big conversion projects that add residents and round-the-clock activity, analysts say. Work by Stone Real Estate and local leasing records point to efforts such as Google's overhaul of the Thompson Center and a wave of office-to-residential conversions as potential engines for steadier foot traffic, but those changes will unfold over months and years, not weeks.
For shoppers and landlords, the view is mixed. A dip in the headline vacancy rate offers a measure of hope, yet the Loop's retail identity is clearly shifting, with fewer national apparel anchors and more experience-focused and value-driven concepts. Expect a patchwork of busy corners and stubborn dead zones, with plenty of tenant turnover as landlords hunt for the next concept and developers push ahead with conversions.
