There are many factors that are making it hard for the downtown shopping districts to fill empty spaces, but could crime be one of the hurdles? Smash-and-grabs and retail theft have spiked in Chicago in the last several months.
After previous I-Team reports, we heard from viewers asking if crime was keeping businesses away. So we dug into the data and spoke to experts close to the issue.
Thieves driving vehicles right through store windows aren’t rare. Retail crimes have businesses like Chicago Sports on the Mag Mile on guard, but they’re resilient.
“We don’t consider leaving,” said owner Tyler Reyes. “We’ve been open since the eighties, but I do think currently it has been a big factor, especially during since the pandemic. All the, you know, the rioting, the looting.”
But could current, persistent crime be keeping businesses from filling a record high number of empty storefronts? The Loop has a current vacancy rate of 30%, and the Mag Mile has a vacancy rate of 26% according to Stone Realty.