CHICAGO—Suburban Chicago tenants were relatively active in the first quarter, leading to 319,986 square feet of positive absorption and a 19 bp decrease in the overall direct vacancy rate, according to a new market report from MBRE. The suburban region's rate was 21.47% by the end of the first quarter.

MBRE data show 20 suburban deals larger than 15,000 square feet were signed, for a combined total of 705,046 square feet. Perhaps more impressive the overall average direct gross asking rent for the suburbs increased by 9.7% in the past year to $22.13.

Class A properties in the East-West submarket continue to outperform all other categories in the region. The vacancy rate for this grouping declined about 130 bps to 17.6% in just one quarter, the fastest drop in the suburbs. And class A tenants there absorbed another 265,243 square feet while class A buildings in the Northwest submarket and O'Hare lost ground.

Developers remain leery of launching new projects in such a high-vacancy environment. But several developers have begun marketing office space at a handful of proposed new suburban developments. Ryan Cos., for example, wants to construct three three-story office buildings with a total of 350,000 square feet at 200 York Rd. in Oak Brook, and GlenStar Properties has proposed an 11-story tower with 300,000 square feet at 8655 W. Higgins Rd. in the O'Hare submarket.

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Suburban Offices Put Together a Good 1Q

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