Chicago O’Hare Office Space for Lease: 2026 Guide to the Kennedy/Cumberland Buildings

Data as of Q3 2026 | Updated October 2026

Chicago O’Hare Office Market Facts and Figures

Tenant Advisors tracks 24 multi-tenant office buildings on Chicago’s Northwest Side inside the O’Hare market, most of them clustered along Bryn Mawr Avenue, Higgins Road, and Cumberland Avenue at the I-90 interchange. Owner-occupied and medical-only buildings are excluded.

Metric	Chicago O’Hare (Kennedy/Cumberland)
Tracked buildings	24
Total inventory	4.5 million SF
Vacancy rate	30.5% (26.3% one year ago)
Availability rate	36.3%
Available space	~1.6 million SF
Net absorption, trailing 12 months	-187,000 SF
Space leased, trailing 12 months	185,000 SF
Class A asking rent	$38–$43/SF gross
Class B asking rent	$25–$29/SF gross
Average months on market	37
New construction	None under construction; one 600,000 SF building proposed
Largest available block	~212,000 SF (8410 W. Bryn Mawr Ave.)

Figures reflect Tenant Advisors’ market tracking of multi-tenant office buildings in the Chicago portion of the O’Hare market. Net absorption is the change in occupied space over the trailing 12 months. Data is updated quarterly.

Is Chicago O’Hare Office Space Filling Up or Emptying Out?

Emptying out. Vacancy rose more than 4 points in a year, and occupied space fell by about 187,000 SF. Tenants still signed leases on 185,000 SF, but move-outs outpaced them. Available space now sits on the market an average of 37 months, more than three years. Nothing is under construction. One 600,000 SF Class A building at 8601 W. Higgins Road is proposed for 2029. If it moves forward, it adds supply to a cluster that is already 30% vacant. For tenants, that means landlords who need deals now.

What Does Office Space Cost Per Month in Chicago O’Hare?

A 5,000 SF office in Chicago O’Hare costs about $15,850 to $17,900 a month in a Class A building and about $10,400 to $12,100 a month in Class B, before free rent. Those figures use Tenant Advisors’ tracked gross rents of $38 to $43/SF in Class A and $25 to $29/SF in Class B.

Office size	Class A, monthly ($38–$43/SF)	Class B, monthly ($25–$29/SF)
2,000 SF	$6,350–$7,150	$4,150–$4,850
5,000 SF	$15,850–$17,900	$10,400–$12,100
10,000 SF	$31,650–$35,850	$20,850–$24,150

Monthly rent before free rent and improvement allowances. Gross rent generally includes real estate taxes and building operating expenses.

Gross rent is not always the whole bill. Ask each landlord about:

• In-suite electricity, which some buildings bill separately.
• Operating expense and tax increases over the base year, which a cap can limit.
• After-hours heating and cooling charges.
• Build-out costs above the improvement allowance, plus cabling, furniture and moving.

Which Office Buildings Are at the Kennedy/Cumberland Interchange?

Presidents Plaza, 8600 & 8700 W. Bryn Mawr Avenue

Two Class A towers totaling about 837,000 SF, built in 1980 and 1983. Plaza II is 87% leased. In April 2026 a roughly 9,000 SF office tenant signed a 3-year lease there at a starting rent of about $27/SF net. Plaza I is only 54% leased, with about 192,000 SF available in suites from small offices up to full floors of about 25,000 SF. A large fitness center, deli, and conference center serve both towers.

Triangle Plaza, 8750 & 8770 W. Bryn Mawr Avenue

East and West towers totaling about 714,000 SF, both built in 1985 and about 95% leased combined. This is the tightest Class A space in the cluster. Openings are limited and move quickly, so tenants who want it need to be in the market early.

O’Hare Plaza, 8725–8755 W. Higgins Road

A four-building campus of about 743,000 SF, built from 1971 to 1985, with connected amenities and a hotel next door. 8745 and 8755 are more than 93% leased. 8735, a 100,000 SF building, is 47% leased with about 56,000 SF available. Asking rents here are among the lowest in the cluster.

The Bryn, 8410, 8420 & 8430 W. Bryn Mawr Avenue

Three buildings totaling about 645,000 SF, built in 1981. 8410 is essentially empty, with about 212,000 SF available, the largest single block in the cluster. Across all three buildings about 430,000 SF is available. This is where a tenant has the most room to push on rent, free rent, and build-out dollars.

International Tower, 8550 W. Bryn Mawr Avenue

310,000 SF of Class A space, built in 1968, about 49% leased with roughly 136,000 SF available.

O’Hare Exchange, 5440 & 5450 N. Cumberland Avenue

Two buildings totaling about 350,000 SF, built in 1984 and 1986, fronting Cumberland Avenue. 5440 is Class A and 69% leased. 5450 is 31% leased. Together they have about 178,000 SF available.

Where Is the Leverage in Chicago O’Hare Right Now?

Vacancy is concentrated. Triangle Plaza, Presidents Plaza II, and most of O’Hare Plaza are more than 87% leased. The Bryn, International Tower, Presidents Plaza I, and O’Hare Exchange carry vacancy of 30% to 97%. Owners with large vacancies compete on rent, free rent, and build-out dollars. Well-leased buildings negotiate harder. A tenant that puts a well-leased building and a high-vacancy building in competition with each other usually gets the best of both.

Renewals are leverage too. Only about 4 in 10 tenants with expiring leases in this cluster renewed over the past two years. Landlords know that, and a well-prepared renewal tenant can use it. See our office lease renewal negotiation page. The Kennedy/Cumberland buildings also compete with Rosemont, Park Ridge, and Des Plaines for the same tenants. Bringing those buildings into the search adds more pressure.

What Should Tenants Negotiate on a Chicago O’Hare Office Lease in 2026?

• Rent: with 30% vacancy and space sitting three years, first proposals leave room. Target the effective rent after concessions, not the asking rate.
• Free rent: 1 to 2 months per year of lease term in competitive situations, or 5 to 10 months on a 5-year lease.
• Tenant improvement allowance: $45–$75/SF for full build-outs on 5+ year terms. Most of these buildings date from the 1970s and 1980s, so make the landlord fund the upgrade.
• Operating expense caps: 4–6% annually on controllable expenses.
• Flexibility: expansion, contraction, and sublease rights, negotiated upfront.
• Parking: included in rent for the full term with no separate escalation.

Should You Lease, Sublease or Use Coworking in Chicago O’Hare?

Lease direct if you need space for three years or more, sublease if you want built-out space at a discount and the remaining term fits, and use coworking only for small teams that need flexibility for a year or less. Ask us for current sublease options in the Kennedy and Cumberland buildings.

	Direct lease	Sublease	Coworking
Typical term	3 to 10 years	Whatever remains on the original lease	Month to month up to 1–2 years
Cost	Market rent, with free rent and an improvement allowance	Usually below direct rent	Priced per desk or office; usually the highest cost per SF
Build-out	Custom, funded largely by the landlord	As-is, often furnished	Ready to use
Watch out for	Committing to more space than you need	Landlord consent and the short remaining term	Rate increases at renewal and limited privacy

How Does Tenant Advisors Find and Tour Space in Chicago O’Hare?

We build a shortlist from every building in Chicago O’Hare that fits your size, budget and timing, tour the best options in one block, and negotiate with several landlords at once. The landlord pays our fee, so there is no cost to tenants.

1. Requirements call: size, budget, move date and must-haves.
2. Building survey: every option that fits, including sublease space, with rents and availability.
3. Tours: your top choices scheduled back to back.
4. Competing proposals: requests to three or more landlords, compared side by side on net effective cost.
5. Negotiation and lease review alongside your attorney through signing and move-in.

Why Do Companies Lease Office Space at Kennedy and Cumberland?

Access. The cluster sits where I-90 meets Cumberland Avenue, minutes from I-294, I-190, and O’Hare’s terminals. The CTA Blue Line’s Cumberland station, with its park-and-ride garage, is in the middle of the cluster and runs direct to the Loop. Employers draw staff from both Chicago’s Northwest Side and the northwest suburbs, and clients fly in without a trip downtown. Professional services firms, insurance companies, logistics and aviation-adjacent firms, and regional offices make up most of the tenant base. For the broader picture, see the O’Hare office market page.

Frequently Asked Questions

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About the authors: Tom Koelzer (Co-Founder & Managing Partner) and Dave Ven Horst (Co-Founder & Managing Broker) founded Tenant Advisors, Inc. in 2004. Tom has worked in Chicago office leasing since 1986 and Dave since 1985, and the firm has negotiated more than 2,000 office leases, representing tenants only. Benchmark your Chicago O’Hare lease against the market: (847) 778-0296 | tkoelzer@tenantadvisors.com.

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