CHICAGO | Economic & Business Development

[Chi-Sky21]

Um, we're getting amazon hq2. My best friend's sister's boyfriend's brother's girlfriend heard from this guy who knows this kid who's going with a girl who heard it at 31 Flavors last night. I guess it's pretty serious.

[Steely Dan]

Thank you, Simone.

[the urban politician]

I was in a secret meeting last night with the Amazon Board of Advisors, and I saw them sign an actual contract for 12,000,000 sf of office space at Lincoln Yards!

It was a very secretive and mysterious meeting, everyone was wearing hoods. I can't say more, just the amount I said right here could get me killed

[the urban politician]

Ground breaking for $1 billion technology park in Elk Grove Village:

https://www.dailyherald.com/news/201...echnology-park

[emathias]

Originally Posted by Chi-Sky21

Um, we're getting amazon hq2. My best friend's sister's boyfriend's brother's girlfriend heard from this guy who knows this kid who's going with a girl who heard it at 31 Flavors last night. I guess it's pretty serious.

Have they exchanged promise rings yet? Or, if they're Irish, claddagh rings?

[bnk]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

Ground breaking for $1 billion technology park in Elk Grove Village:

https://www.dailyherald.com/news/201...echnology-park

The biggest thing I got out of here is the planed Data centers.

Chicago is already at in the top three in data, like rail and wires. I think it is only behind and not by a lot by New York City Metro and DC Metro.


Location.


I was reading an article in the last few days there was fear Chicagoland was barely meeting the needs in high intensive electric draws needing to keep up the pace for date cloud storage and space for the trading markets and what not.


Here is the link. Looks like they are adding needed functions.


http://www.chicagotribune.com/busine...709-story.html


With an insatiable demand for data centers, some are worried Illinois can't keep up


Ally Marotti



...

Spurred by society’s ever-increasing dependence on the cloud, demand for data centers is insatiable. The Chicago area ranks third in the country for data center capacity, but an increasing number of states, including neighboring Iowa, are wooing the facilities with tax incentives.
In contrast, there are no incentives available in Illinois specifically for data centers, which can bring economic benefits like improved power grids and telecommunications systems. Those upgrades in turn help attract more companies and more jobs to Chicago. Some worry the lack of incentives could hinder industry growth in a state that’s a hub of internet connectivity.

…

The Chicago area is attracting co-location data centers, facilities like the one in the old Sun-Times building, where companies can house their servers. But the tech giants, such as Google and Amazon, have not put their data center facilities in Illinois, Brockschmidt said.
“We’re attracting the bare minimum that the market is willing to fill,” he said. “We’re not attracting the maximum here that we could because we’ve limited our potential.”
Illinois lawmakers have introduced bills to create tax credits for data centers in the past, but they’ve stalled.


…

Other facilities are a bit more incognito. Digital Realty owns nine other data centers in the Chicago area, including three on a campus in Elk Grove Village that from the outside look like warehouses.
...

[the urban politician]

^ Thanks for sharing.

So it's not really a "technology" Park. More like a data center and warehousing/distribution Park.

[LouisVanDerWright]

Originally Posted by tjp

Just caught wind of the Salesforce rumors, myself, through a friend in CRE. It does indeed sound like they're looking for a lot of space.

How big is "a lot"? Are we talking more or less than the recent Facebook lease??

[the urban politician]

It would be rad if Salesforce anchored an entire new building, like that new office tower proposed over the rebuild of the Fire Dept station in River North. Salesforce’s local office is already in River North, so it’s a good fit

[tjp]

/edit

[marothisu]

Nm

[bnk]

spoiler alert nothing new.



http://www.globest.com/2018/07/27/yo...20180627112533


Young Residents and Diverse Economy Jolt Chicago Growth

July 27, 2018 | By Lisa Brown


In this EXCLUSIVE, Jim Carris shares his insights into Chicago’s business climate, North River Branch rezoning, notable downtown relocations including McDonald’s and if Amazon will choose Chicago.

...

[jpIllInoIs]

Originally Posted by bnk

The biggest thing I got out of here is the planed Data centers.

Chicago is already at in the top three in data, like rail and wires. I think it is only behind and not by a lot by New York City Metro and DC Metro.


Location.


I was reading an article in the last few days there was fear Chicagoland was barely meeting the needs in high intensive electric draws needing to keep up the pace for date cloud storage and space for the trading markets and what not.


Here is the link. Looks like they are adding needed functions.


http://www.chicagotribune.com/busine...709-story.html


With an insatiable demand for data centers, some are worried Illinois can't keep up


Ally Marotti



...

Spurred by society’s ever-increasing dependence on the cloud, demand for data centers is insatiable. The Chicago area ranks third in the country for data center capacity, but an increasing number of states, including neighboring Iowa, are wooing the facilities with tax incentives.
In contrast, there are no incentives available in Illinois specifically for data centers, which can bring economic benefits like improved power grids and telecommunications systems. Those upgrades in turn help attract more companies and more jobs to Chicago. Some worry the lack of incentives could hinder industry growth in a state that’s a hub of internet connectivity.

…

The Chicago area is attracting co-location data centers, facilities like the one in the old Sun-Times building, where companies can house their servers. But the tech giants, such as Google and Amazon, have not put their data center facilities in Illinois, Brockschmidt said.
“We’re attracting the bare minimum that the market is willing to fill,” he said. “We’re not attracting the maximum here that we could because we’ve limited our potential.”
Illinois lawmakers have introduced bills to create tax credits for data centers in the past, but they’ve stalled.


…

Other facilities are a bit more incognito. Digital Realty owns nine other data centers in the Chicago area, including three on a campus in Elk Grove Village that from the outside look like warehouses.
...

If there is "Insatiable Demand" then why are incentives needed? Data Centers are not large employment providers. They are server farms. Chicago has plenty of space on the south side industrial areas for those facilities, not sure if they are located On Top of fiber lines but since those lines usually follow Railroad right of ways I would guess that they are.

[the urban politician]

^ Incentives are needed because low tax "real 'Murka'" states are probably offering them to attract development to what is otherwise worthless real estate.

[marothisu]

Metro Chicago's $1-Million-Plus Home Market Set Sales Volume Mark in 2nd Quarter, While Prices Were Little Changed, According to RE/MAX Luxury Report

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-rele...300686593.html

Luxury home sales activity in the seven-county Chicago area increased modestly during the second quarter, while prices showed little upward momentum, according to the quarterly RE/MAX Luxury Report on Metro Chicago Real Estate. Home purchases of $1 million or more climbed to 916 units, up +1.9% from the same period last year. For the full first half of this year, the increase was +3.2% to 1,408 units. Both those transaction totals were the highest for their respective periods since RE/MAX began tracking luxury home sales in 2011.

"The luxury market isn't booming, but it is certainly doing well in terms of sales volume, and it is working through some of the excess inventory that accumulated over the 18 months prior to 2018," observed Jeff LaGrange, Vice President of the RE/MAX Northern Illinois Region. "The luxury inventory was -3.6% lower on June 30 than it was a year earlier. The exception to that trend was among luxury attached homes, primarily condominium units, in Chicago, where inventory increased +7.3% thanks to a steady supply of new construction.

The city luxury market had an active second quarter, with 457 homes changing hands, +7.3% more than during the same quarter last year. First-half sales gained +5.9%. The median sales price for the second quarter was $1,311,500, -2.3% less than last year's comparable figure. Average market time shortened to 127 days from 142 a year ago.

The second-quarter increase in units sold is attributable to a surge in attached-home sales, which rose +18.8% to 215 units. The median sales price for luxury attached homes slipped -2.4% to $1.29 million. The biggest gains in attached sales occurred in two emerging areas that have seen a good deal of new high-rise construction. Sales in the Near West Side totaled 23 units, a gain of +228.6%, while 15 luxury sales in the Near South Side represented a gain of +114.3%. Also showing sales strength was the Near North Side, the traditional leader in luxury attached sales, where 125 units were sold, an increase of +30.2%. However, other key areas saw fewer transactions for the quarter than in 2017. Sales dipped -20% in the Loop, -27.3% in Lincoln Park and -41.7% in Lake View.

etc - too much to post.

[marothisu]

Niles-Based AFN Logistics Opens Chicago Office to Attract Tech Talent

https://www.americaninno.com/chicago...t-tech-talent/

AFN Logistics, headquartered in Niles, Ill., announced Monday that it has opened a new downtown Chicago office that can hold up to 70 employees.

The office, at 101 N. Wacker Drive, is designed to help attract younger tech talent and be a convenient meeting location for the company’s customers, carriers and partners. AFN, founded in 2003, provides customized supply chain solutions to major manufacturers.

It said the second office will help accommodate the 85 new people it plans to hire this year. AFN currently employs nearly 250.

[the urban politician]

Originally Posted by Stockerzzz

M&A Rainmakers Flock to America's Heartland in Search for Growth

I liked this article until they talked about Charlotte, Denver, Atlanta, etc etc and other similar putz towns as being beneficiaries in the same way Chicago is.

I mean, come on. Either glorify Chicago or put it down, but let’s please not mention it in the same sentence as those lame ass places

[emathias]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

I liked this article until they talked about Charlotte, Denver, Atlanta, etc etc and other similar putz towns as being beneficiaries in the same way Chicago is.

I mean, come on. Either glorify Chicago or put it down, but let’s please not mention it in the same sentence as those lame ass places

It quoted someone calling Chicago the center of it all, and it didn't mean geographically. I think your complaint is silly and provincial. Chicago does compete against all the places mentioned in the article, and to pretend it doesn't would be naive and amateurish.

[the urban politician]

Originally Posted by emathias

It quoted someone calling Chicago the center of it all, and it didn't mean geographically. I think your complaint is silly and provincial. Chicago does compete against all the places mentioned in the article, and to pretend it doesn't would be naive and amateurish.

My complaint was fair, global, and awesome.

Thanks

[bnk]

https://www.nasdaq.com/article/chica...20180731-01025

Chicago Business Barometer Unexpectedly Rises To 6-Month High In July

July 31, 2018, 10:07:00 AM EDT


(RTTNews.com) - MNI Indicators released a report on Tuesday showing an unexpected acceleration in the pace of growth in Chicago-area business activity in the month of July.

The report said the Chicago business barometer rose to a six-month high of 65.5 in July from 64.1 in June, with a reading above 50 indicating growth in business activity. Economists had expected the barometer to dip to 62.3.

The unexpected increase came as all but one of the barometer's components rose during the month, with only the supplier deliveries index losing ground.
Both the new orders index and the production index also rose to six-month highs in July, which MNI Indicators said is traditionally a busy month for firms coinciding with the summer holiday season.
The report also said the employment index rose for the third straight month to a four-month high, indicating firms were more intent on hiring new personnel.


...