As the final hours of the year 2012 wind down, the team behind The Elevator Speech want to thank all who read, comment and subscribe to this blog. We sincerely appreciate the opportunity to have this online forum — our way to share information and ideas about the always interesting and dynamic Chicago commercial real estate market and this world-class center for business, commerce and the arts.
This will be our final post of 2012. So, we thought we’d share the following insight gained by looking back on posts, views and comments.
2012 Year-End Survey. In late November, we asked readers to take a short survey ranking the most “monumental” business event in Chicago in 2012. We garnered 22 responses — a very good response rate, we think.
As anticipated, the May NATO Summit here ranked the highest with 10 votes or 45.5 percent. It was followed by the July announcement that Motorola Mobility planned to lease 500,000 square feet at the Merchandise Mart. 27.27% (6 votes) and September Chicago Public School Teacher’s Union strike. 22.73% (5 votes). The record-setting July heat wave garnered zero responses.
If you have an opinion on what ranked as the most monumental business event in our town, please share your thoughts. This week, the editors at Crain’s Chicago Business offered the top 10 real estate-related news events of 2012 in an online photo gallery.
Winter and the Holidays. At this time of year, we anticipate some of our more “seasonal” posts generate the most SEO and therefore rank high among the most-viewed. And that certainly was true.
For the past few weeks, a January post on ways we cope with the elements “froze out” many others. (Sorry. Couldn’t resist the pun.) And, reflections from December of 2011 on Chicago holiday traditions consistently ranked pretty high.
Chicago’s Central Business District on a Frozen Lake Michigan
NOTE: The winter of 2012-13 so far has delivered some snow and “seasonal” temperatures. Will Chicagoans cope with a “real winter” this season?
What’s Next for Navy Pier? Our town’s most popular visitor destination — the iconic Navy Pier — may undergo another major renovation. In February, we published two posts on Navy Pier that continue to rank high among our visitors. Part 1 offered some historical perspectives on the near-century-old Pier, and Part 2analyzed the vision shared by architects and urban planners on how the Pier should serve visitors and Chicagoans into its next century.
Thanks again for your continued support of The Elevator Speech. We hope you continue to follow us in 2013. Wishing all a safe and Happy New Year.
