Chicago’s already declining office market has been handed another tough blow this week. Airplanes manufacturer Boeing announced that the company would leave the city after two decades and is moving its headquarters to Arlington, Virginia.
According to Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun, the company also plans to establish a research and technology hub in the same area.
“The region makes strategic sense for our global headquarters given its proximity to our customers and stakeholders and its access to world-class engineering and technical talent,” Calhoun said.
Boeing established its headquarters in Chicago in 2021, being lured by $60 million in tax breaks and incentives offered by the city and the state of Illinois. This agreement expired last year, paving the way for the company to look into other options. However, the company promised it would keep a “strong presence in the city” despite relocation.
Despite the promise, Boeing will probably significantly reduce its presence at the 36-story North Riverside Plaza tower it has occupied for the past 15 years. This will only increase the alarming vacancy rate in the city’s central business district that climbed north of 20 percent, according to recent reports.
Several other companies are also gearing up to leave the Chicago central area besides Boeing. One of them is United Airlines, which is expected to move its offices and employees to Arlington Heights suburbs by the end of the year.
