Vacancy rates for retail space in Evanston rose in the second quarter this year to 5.4 percent, while the vacancy rate for office space in town fell to 5.8 percent.
Data from CoStar Realty Information provided by the city’s Economic Development Division shows that the retail vacancy rate in Evanston remains slightly below that in Chicago’s Loop and in the northern suburbs overall, although the rate in the Loop fell to 5.5 percent while the north suburban rate rose to 6.6 percent.
The office vacancy rate in Evanston continued a decline that’s been underway for over two years — when it was nearly double what it is now.
Evanston’s current 5.8 percent vacancy rate for offices compares favorably with an 11.7 percent rate in the Loop and a 12.8 percent rate in the north suburbs.
The City Council is scheduled to vote next month on a plan to sell a city-owned parking lot in the 1700 block of Chicago Avenue that would beome the site for a new 11-story office building.
The industrial vacancy rate in Evanston remained unchanged last quarter at 1.8 percent. That compares with a 4.6 percent rate in the north suburbs.