City In Review: Chicago

Loop · 2025-05

Loop permit value hits $163M, up 62%

The Loop pulled 245 permits in May, down 12% from April, but their combined value hit $163 million—a 62% jump. Most of that growth came through 152 express permits, the fast-track path for smaller commercial work. Renovation permits ranked second with 41, followed by signs and new construction tied at 18 each. Elevator work rounded out the top five with 16 permits. No new business licenses or closures showed up in the data this month.

By the numbers

Building permits245
Declared construction value$163,183,157
New business licenses186
Business closings (proxy)0
311 service requests1061
Reported crimes692
Violent crimes139
Failed food inspections18

New businesses

Top permit types

Top 311 request types

Automated draft · verified against source · confidence 0.95. Spot a problem? Tell us.