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.

‘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.

Franchise owner Elise Mills delivers a customer order April 17, 2025, on opening day at a Chick-fil-A restaurant in Chicago's Pullman neighborhood. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)

Chick-fil-A opens Pullman restaurant, giving another boost to Far South Side

April 17, 2025 at 6:38 p.m.

Chick-fil-A is the anchor tenant for Pullman Gateway, a new 8-acre commercial center near 111th Street and the Bishop Ford Freeway.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell addresses the Economic Club of Chicago at a luncheon at the Hilton on April 16, 2025. Powell shared his view of the U.S. economy, saying that the country’s debt is “on an unsustainable path, not at an unsustainable level.” (Audrey Richardson/Chicago Tribune)

Trump tariffs will drive up inflation, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell tells Economic Club of Chicago

April 16, 2025 at 5:57 p.m.

Powell sought to calm fears about the current state of the economy in remarks at the Hilton Chicago Hotel.

The city is selling this 1-acre vacant parcel at 466 W. Cermak Road, foreground, along the Chicago River. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)

Chicago puts hundreds of vacant lots up for sale, part of several initiatives to kickstart development

April 1, 2025 at 6:34 p.m.

Mayor Brandon Johnson envisions getting the empty lots into the hands of developers ready to build mixed-use districts or other projects.

A man walks past a McHugh Construction site at Ogden Commons in North Lawndale on March 31, 2025. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune)

Trump tariffs on steel and aluminum could squeeze Chicago apartment developers, leading to higher rents

April 1, 2025 at 1:39 p.m.

Steel and aluminum are essential for high-rise construction, and are often cheaper to produce in countries like China, Mexico or Canada, one expert said.

The Department of Government Efficiency initially planned to cancel the lease on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers office at 231 S. LaSalle St. in Chicago. DOGE recently restored the lease. (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune)

Federal workers in Chicago on edge amid President Donald Trump plans to shrink government’s real estate footprint

March 25, 2025 at 12:19 p.m.

In the Chicago area, more than 250,000 square feet of leased federal office space has been canceled.

Spectators take photos from the Columbus Avenue bridge in Chicago on March 15, 2025, as the Chicago River is dyed green by the Chicago Journeymen Plumbers Local Union 130 UA to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. (Audrey Richardson/Chicago Tribune)

A Chicago ‘high holiday,’ St. Patrick’s Day celebrated with green-dyed river and thousands for downtown parade

March 17, 2025 at 11:32 a.m.

Gusty winds didn’t spoil the downtown Chicago St. Patrick's Day celebration, which including the traditional dyeing of the river and parade.

A building that temporarily stores President Barack Obama records and gifts is seen Feb. 26, 2025, in Hoffman Estates. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)

DOGE says it’s closing Hoffman Estates’ Obama Presidential Library site, but federal officials had already announced lease ending

March 3, 2025 at 4:34 p.m.

Federal officials who run the temporary facility said in mid-2024 that they planned to exit the lease and move the Barack Obama Presidential Library to a permanent, out-of-state location this...

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