Why Chicago's Downtown Needs Help

Downtown office vacancy remains at an all-time high of 25.8% as of last quarter, Crain’s reported. City officials and business leaders have tried to chip away at the problem — like Google reimagining the Thompson Center and efforts to convert offices into apartments on LaSalle Street.

So how can Chicago revitalize the Loop? University of Chicago students are trying to drum up solutions

Professor Justin Marlowe is in charge of the Harris Policy Innovation Challenge. He shared the unique ways students are reimagining downtown Chicago.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

What solutions are already impressing you?

“Students recognize the value of green space as a quality of life consideration, but also as a driver of economic development particularly for new tech-centric business models where that's a must-have for younger tech workers who want to be downtown.”

“A couple of groups are actively exploring what it means to do a major sports and entertainment complex downtown, and they've gone so far as to collect data on what it would mean for the Sox or Bears or Red Stars.”

“Students are interested in things we haven't thought about like sustainable agriculture. You could have an entire multi-acre farm operation set up in a building downtown to provide fresh produce for the entire neighborhood.”

You said students are also interested in making downtown equitable. Can Chicago’s downtown be for everyone?

“One of the things that students have had to define early on is exactly what is downtown. And I think for a lot of students who are concerned about the equitable redevelopment of downtown, they've been willing to think about maybe not just a downtown strategy, but multiple downtown strategies serving different parts of downtown.”

“So you could have, in theory, people who are looking for subsidized affordable housing options in the same building with people who are willing to pay quite a bit more for more amenities where they're paying market rate and then some. And that works really well in certain places. In other places, that's just not really an option.”

What other cities are students looking to for examples?

“Philadelphia has had a variety of tax credit programs to encourage [office-to-residential] conversions. They've done some transit investments. They've done some infrastructure investments. They've leaned into their downtown ambassador program to try to create a better quality of life and a lot more events and street life happening downtown.”

“San Francisco has seen a drastic improvement in people coming downtown, crime, and perceptions of the quality of life downtown. There’s a similar sort of playbook there.”

“If you're looking to think about what a pedestrian-friendly downtown looks like, then inevitably you end up looking at someplace like Barcelona.”

Finalists for the Harris Policy Innovation Challenge will be unveiled in the spring.