Members

The GBD Innovation Club members are the global business districts, its managing companies, urban authorities and high level experts working in related fields

Key Figures

Total Area: 2,300 ha
Office space: 8,5 million m2
Number of companies: 3,000
Number of towers: 176
Number of employees: 370,000+

About the business district

Over the past 200 years, the Loop has served as Chicago’s official downtown—the go-to spot in the city for business, shopping, and tourism. With boundaries at the Chicago River to the north and west, Ida B. Wells Drive to the south, and Lake Michigan to the east, the Loop is the second largest commercial business district in the U.S. after Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is home to 350,000 daily workers and about 30% of all private-sector jobs in Chicago (despite being only .7% of the city’s total land area). The Loop’s access to transportation, its dense and walkable geography, and its setting on Grant Park and Lake Michigan continue to attract workers, shoppers, visitors, and investors from around the world. The Loop is also home to many of Chicago’s most iconic assets, including Cloud Gate (“The Bean”), the Chicago Theatre District, Millennium Park and the Jay Pritzker Pavilion, the Art Institute of Chicago, Willis Tower (110 stories, 1,450 feet tall), and more.

About the managing company

Chicago Loop Alliance (CLA) is an organization that creates, manages, and promotes high-performing urban experiences to attract people and investment to the Loop, Chicago’s official downtown. Through its various program areas, CLA does its part to make the Loop a vibrant destination for residents, workers, and visitors alike. As a member-based business organization, CLA provides marketing and networking opportunities to more than 250 members representing the Loop’s business, civic, and cultural institutions. Through the Chicago Loop Alliance Foundation, CLA completes placemaking projects like its annual pop-up art event series, ACTIVATE. In addition, CLA is the sole service provider for Special Service Area #1-2015, which covers State Street and parts of Wabash in the Loop. This means providing services above and beyond those of the City, including Street and Clean Team Ambassadors, Security Patrols, landscaping, holiday decorations, infrastructure maintenance, research and reports, destination marketing, and more. All of these initiatives are in place to realize the vision of keeping the Loop a vibrant global business district and recognized world-class destination.