Brian J. Rogal

Brian J. Rogal is a lifelong Chicagoan if you count a childhood spent in the suburbs. The Bucktown resident is a graduate of DePaul University and then spent several years as an investigative reporter with The Chicago Reporter, mostly writing about the CHA’s transformation. He has covered commercial real estate full-time since 2013.

Developer Vista Property said the company is set to break ground on an apartment tower in the West Loop’s Fulton Market. (Antunovich Associates)

Developer secures financing for new Fulton Market tower, a rare event amid economic anxiety

May 29, 2025 at 1:02 p.m.

A tower crane will soon appear at 370 N. Morgan St., the site of the old single-story Fox Deluxe Foods building, where developer Vista Property Group plans to construct a...

Protesters opposed to Reserve Management Group's new scrap metal shredding facility at 11600 S. Burley Ave. along the Calumet River stage a die-in near the home of then-Mayor Lori Lightfoot on March 4, 2021. (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune)

Johnson-backed proposal would put additional requirements on new industrial developments. Industry is pushing back.

May 27, 2025 at 7:42 a.m.

Advocates for heavy industry say if the proposal puts more obstacles in the way of new industrial businesses getting started, it could squelch much-needed job creation.

Chicago Ald. Walter Burnett, 27th, is shown at a City Council meeting on April 19, 2024. (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune)

Zoning Committee defers action on massive River West apartment complex, as labor unions press developer for an agreement

May 20, 2025 at 6:36 p.m.

The deferral sets up a possible up-or-down vote by the full City Council on June 20 for Vancouver-based Onni Group, which wants to build several skyscrapers up to 650 feet...

The Chicago Plan Commission on May 15 approved a controversial project that will transform a riverfront tract on the North Side just west of the Julia C. Lathrop Homes public housing development into a luxury housing community. (ZSD Oakdale LLC)

Plan Commission approves luxury townhomes for riverfront site, and some worry it could endanger manufacturing jobs

May 15, 2025 at 5:14 p.m.

Some community members worry that planting 35 townhomes on the vacant site, once zoned for manufacturing, could push out the neighborhood’s remaining manufacturers and the jobs they provide.

The empty lots in the northern section of the Lincoln Yards development facing southward towards the Chicago skyline on May 12, 2025, in Chicago. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)

Chicago residential developer now negotiating to buy the entire Lincoln Yards site, which is still mostly empty

May 15, 2025 at 12:23 p.m.

The move would end Sterling Bay’s decade-long effort to transform the former industrial land, now mostly vacant, into a glittering, $6 billion mixed-use community.

The Clark Adams Building as seen from Federal Plaza on Oct. 9, 2019, in Chicago's Loop. (Erin Hooley/Chicago Tribune)

City commission approves $67 million in TIF funds for massive Central Loop renovation

May 14, 2025 at 9:56 a.m.

The funds will help its development team transform dozens of vacant floors into hundreds of new apartments, including 121 reserved as affordable.

JDL Development is assessing the feasibility of buying the northern half of the 53-acre Lincoln Yards megadevelopment. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)

Swath of Lincoln Yards site, still mostly empty 6 years after winning City Council approval, could be sold

May 13, 2025 at 10:41 a.m.

JDL Development is assessing the feasibility of buying the 53-acre site's northern half, which developer Sterling Bay surrendered to lender Bank OZK.

‘Empire’ mansion in Barrington Hills sells for $6.5 million after spending years on the market

April 25, 2025 at 5:26 p.m.

The mansion was first listed more than 10 years ago. It’s not unusual for opulent homes to go unsold for extended periods.

Paul Bertin, president and chief technology officer of Grove Biopharma, works in the chemistry lab in Chicago’s Fulton Market neighborhood on April 24, 2025. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)

Life sciences startup secures $30 million and opens Fulton Market lab

April 24, 2025 at 6:45 p.m.

The expansion is a good signal for an industry that slowed down, both in Chicago and nationwide, as interest rates rose and some venture capital sources dried up.

People in a conference room during their workday at HOK, a design, engineering and architecture firm, in One Prudential Plazaon on April 10, 2025, in Chicago. (Audrey Richardson/Chicago Tribune)

As companies return to the office, spas and other amenities are key to wooing workers back

April 21, 2025 at 5:00 a.m.

Five years after Covid shuttered the market, companies have begun signing new leases at a faster pace, and many are seeking upgrades.

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