Chicago 2025: The City Will Remain a Big Draw

From left: Keith Largay, managing director, JLL; Will Murphy, managing partner of CEDARst Cos.; John Gavin, principal, Sterling Bay; Andrea Zopp, president and chief executive officer of World Business Chicago, Chris Kelly, co-founder, Convene.

CHICAGO—JLL made a statement last week by choosing to host its Chicago 2025 forecast event in Venue West at 221 N. Paulina St. on the Near West Side. Normally, gatherings like this draw people to downtown hotels, one most have been to several times. But the Chicago-based firm wanted to highlight the potential of this area, which lies just a few blocks west of 1KFulton, the former cold storage building that developer Sterling Bay transformed into an office complex anchored by Google. And participants on a late afternoon panel made it clear they felt the city can generate enough energy and demand to eventually kickstart development in many neighborhoods.

Keith Largay, managing director, JLL, led the discussion, and began by asking Andrea Zopp, president and chief executive officer of World Business Chicago, what the many corporations she speaks with found desirable about the Chicago region. She replied that above all, companies both large and small talk about access to talent. And most believe Chicago provides it.