Downtown office vacancy is stuck near record highs. O’Hare and Elk Grove industrial areas can’t build fast enough. Suburban landlords are dangling a year of free rent just to keep tenants, while industrial outdoor storage, basically fenced asphalt, is suddenly a $200 billion institutional asset class.

In this solo breakdown, Gordon Lamphere, broker of 100+ Chicagoland deals a year, unpacks the narratives that don’t line up and shows you where the real opportunities are hiding. From office conversions downtown to scarcity-driven industrial in Elk Grove to IOS and infill redevelopment, Gordon walks you through what’s really happening on the ground in Q3 2025.

But this isn’t just another market update. It’s a perspective grounded in the legacy and deal flow of Van Vlissingen & Co.

Reach Our Team of Commercial Real Estate Agents In Chicago: https://www.vvco.com/commercial-real-estate-agent-in-chicago/

Why listen to Gordon’s Team?

- 145 years of heritage. Founded in 1879, Van Vlissingen is one of America’s oldest continuously operating CRE firms. Longevity backed by execution.

- 100+ transactions a year. Gordon and his team aren’t speculating. They’re in the middle of the market daily, across office, industrial, land, and redevelopment.

- Boutique focus + broad reach. High-touch advisory paired with a proprietary marketing engine that reaches 50,000+ investors, developers, and occupiers.

- Actionable insights. On The Real Finds Podcast, Gordon brings clarity to complex deals, distilling market noise into investor-ready takeaways.

Key Topics This Episode Covers

- Office: CBD vacancy ~27% → LaSalle conversions (1,700+ units planned; 349 at 30 N. LaSalle) mean it’s a land play, not a rent recovery.

- O’Hare/Elk Grove industrial: Vacancy under 2%. Power infrastructure (ComEd’s 260 MW substation) + $8.5B O’Hare modernization = gold-plated stability.

- Suburban office: Oak Brook holds, North Suburbs slip. B/C stock is essentially covered land.

- Lake County: $1.78B investment since 2021, 4,000 new jobs → execution-friendly growth node.

- Multifamily: Pipeline cresting in ’25 → firmer rents into ’26/’27. - IOS: Now a $200B institutionalized niche. Scarce, sticky, premium-priced.

- Redevelopment: The real long-term value. From Allstate’s Glenview campus to LaSalle Street, less invasive, community-compatible plays win approvals and value.

The Takeaway

Chicago’s CRE market is splitting. Downtown commodity office is headed for conversion. O’Hare industrial is a scarcity fortress. Suburban office is bifurcated—winners like Oak Brook, losers facing redevelopment. Lake County is the quiet success story. IOS is institutional gold. And across all asset classes, the real upside is in infill redevelopment that municipalities will support.

That’s why investors, developers, and occupiers listen to Gordon Lamphere and Van Vlissingen & Co. They’re not chasing headlines. They’re closing the deals that will become tomorrow’s case studies.

Reach Our Team of Commercial Real Estate Agents In Chicago