More suburban Chicago office buildings were empty in 2024:

Meanwhile, 2024 brought an increase in suburban office vacancies — an all-time high of 26.3%, up from 25.4% a year earlier.

The suburbs are job centers. For example, the article notes, “Schaumburg is Illinois’ largest hub of economic activity outside of Chicago.” So to have a lot of empty office space is not a good thing. Owners of these buildings would prefer to have full offices as would municipalities who gain tax revenues.

Will upgrades to the buildings make a big difference? That is what the rest of the article suggests as workers and companies seek certain amenities to enhance the workspace and compete well against work from home options.

Also interesting to note is the redevelopment options if there is too much office space. For example:

Schaumburg officials hope to assist the office market by reducing its obsolete properties. This includes buying a 204,000-square-foot building to demolish for the village’s next police station and nearing approval to convert a 45-year-old Class B office building across from Woodfield into a 98-unit high-end apartment complex.

How many suburban communities would be willing to pull the plug on decent office space and go through all the effort it takes to redevelop the same land? If there is not demand for high quality office space, will other land uses bring in similar revenues and have similar levels of prestige? I would guess edge cities are not interested in losing that status but finding the right balance of offices, residences, and other uses could take time.