Gasoline supplier British Petroleum recently announced that it will be moving 1,200 jobs out of the western suburbs and into the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. This is a complete reverse of the company’s decision to move many jobs out of the city a decade ago when BP obtained Chicago-based Amoco.

The positions will be transferring from Warrenville and Naperville mainly due to the needs of a majority of BP employees. A large portion of these individuals are younger professionals, which is a group that enjoys the idea of both living and working in downtown Chicago. Donald Smith of Jupiter Reality says that the growth of the West Loop market has made downtown living more desirable, especially for young professionals.

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