Chicago’s office market has split into two very different stories, and the plot twist is unfolding west of the river. While much of the Loop wrestles with vacancy in the low-to-mid 20% range, the city’s newest, amenity-packed towers are sitting at roughly 9.5% vacant, pulling tenant demand toward Fulton Market and other modern Class A buildings.
New towers, lower vacancy
According to REJournals, summarizing Transwestern's Chicago Office Market Index, the 20 newest Class A buildings in the Central Business District total about 17.8 million square feet and finished the first quarter with a 9.5% vacancy rate. The index’s vacancy ticked up from 8% at the close of 2025 after 919 W. Fulton joined the list, but it still sat well below the broader downtown average. The same summary notes a steady stream of leases across index properties, including Qube Research’s roughly 29,067-square-foot deal at 320 S. Canal and several mid-sized expansions that kept momentum from stalling.
The Fulton delivery changed the math
The biggest swing of the quarter came from the debut of 919 W. Fulton, which dropped a major new building into Fulton Market and shifted submarket energy in its direction. Developers and contractor Skender describe The Fulton as a roughly 535,000-square-foot campus that links new construction with the historic Schwinn building and has already attracted tenants such as Harrison Street and Coca-Cola, according to Skender. That fresh supply arrived with significant direct vacancy, nudging the index’s overall rate higher even as demand for cutting-edge space stayed firmly focused on Fulton Market.
Big blocks are scarce
Transwestern’s index also highlights a tight market for very large contiguous blocks in the newest towers. Only four direct vacancies larger than 100,000 square feet remained, with the biggest spaces including two blocks at 300 N. LaSalle and a roughly 178,700-square-foot opportunity at 919 W. Fulton, according to REJournals. Sublease availability within the index totaled about 631,247 square feet, or around 3.6% of the tracked inventory, suggesting there is secondary space in play but not nearly enough to flood the market. For tenants hunting 200,000-plus square feet in a single shot, that imbalance could be strong enough to justify new ground-up projects if they decide to relocate.
How the rest of downtown compares
Zooming out to the wider CBD, the numbers get less flattering. Methodology varies, but CBRE pegged downtown’s direct vacancy near 27.0% in the first quarter of 2026. Colliers reported only modest quarter-to-quarter changes and pointed to a thin construction pipeline that keeps move-in-ready, high-end space in high demand. The gap between sleek new towers and older stock is forcing many legacy buildings to consider upgrades or full-on repurposing, while the best-located, amenity-rich properties continue to draw tenants and hold rents relatively steady.
For office users, the takeaway is straightforward: quality space in lively neighborhoods with strong amenities is still the easiest way to coax people into commuting. For developers and investors, Chicago’s two-speed market is both warning and invitation, a reminder that if you build the right product in the right pocket, tenants are still willing to show up and sign on the dotted line.
