An amended ordinance approved by City Council today makes it easier for high-rise office tenants to obtain business identification signs on the exteriors of their buildings.

Previously limited to tenants that occupy at least 350,000 square feet or 51% of a building’s square footage, high-rise signs are now available to tenants occupying at least 250,000 square feet or 36%, respectively.

The change is intended to more accurately reflect the footprints of principal tenants in high-rise buildings post-Covid and to increase the appeal of larger leases in the downtown office core.

High-rise signs are located 150 feet or more above a building’s base at grade, with increasing sizes permitted depending on a sign’s location above the ground. Other sign provisions in the ordinance remain unchanged.

The proposal was introduced to City Council by Ald. Walter Burnett (27th) in consultation with the Department of Planning and Development and World Business Chicago.