Chicago REALTOR® and Immediate Past Chair of the Global Real Estate Council Aaron Masliansky, Dream Town Realty, penned a blog for The Chicago Council of Global Affairs to discuss the global impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on Chicago.
“To remain attractive and competitive amid these changes, major cities are trying to build on their strengths, particularly by reimagining the purpose of their downtown areas. For instance, Chicago has plans to repurpose aging office buildings on LaSalle Street, traditionally the city’s financial center, into residential spaces. In fact, despite predictions of central-city decline, Chicago’s Loop neighborhood has seen an increase in residents by almost 10 percent since 2020, according to estimates from the Chicago Loop Alliance—likely encouraged initially by rents coming down in the central business district at the height of the pandemic, and now due to the attraction to the re-opened cultural attractions, transportation network and natural amenities like the nearby lakefront, whose pandemic restrictions have been lifted. This transformation may have long-term implications for the urban landscape, including a greater emphasis on residential developments and a decline in demand for traditional office space,” Masliansky wrote.