Chicago Real Estate News & Neighborhood Notes

Despite the documented struggles expressed by co-working giant WeWork, demand for shared workspace seems to still be on the rise in and around downtown Chicago.

According to new data, the amount of co-working space in downtown Chicago is expected to increase to more than 9 million square feet by the end of 2023, or nearly 3 times as much space as what currently exists.

While certainly a bold prediction, low-risk, short-term leases are the primary driving forces behind increased demand, and even large corporations that want more flexibility in overhead costs are turning more to leased co-working spaces in city centers.

The data also noted that around 43,000 local workers currently operate out of co-working space in downtown Chicago right now, which is almost twice the number from just three years ago.

But even despite the impressive 3-year spike, projections still show that figure will shoot up to 120,000 by the end of 2023.