New trend of businesses moving back to the city?

Bucking a trend that started in the 70’s and peaked in the 80’s and 90’s, businesses are starting to abandon the suburbs and move back to Chicago.  Long viewed as an opportunity to reduce operating costs and get more space, companies like Sears Holdings and Sara Lee moved their headquarters out of the city and into massive suburban complexes.  In a surprising about-face, Sara Lee is now considering moving back.  If it happens, they would join other big names like BP, United Airlines, Willis Group, and possibly Barilla and Acco Brands.  Growing firms like Groupon and Google have decided to stay in the city in order to draw from the large engineering and advertising talent pool.   

This shift is partly a result of changing demographics, with people waiting longer to get married and move to the suburbs, and also increased vacancy in buildings downtown, which currently stands at 18%, or 24 million square feet.  Read more about this here.