Downtown Cleveland office buildings are rapidly emptying at a rate, with some large office buildings in Chicago selling at a 90% discount. This is not unique to Cleveland, as the city has lost nearly two-thirds of its population in the past 70 years. Approximately half of the 15 million square feet of downtown office space is in buildings that are distressed, a categorization used by the industry to describe buildings whose market values have significantly declined or are losing tenants. Factors such as a flight to suburban office space, employees working at home, and inflation that makes it costlier to maintain and operate large buildings. Complicating matters is that one of downtown’s biggest property owners, Frank Sinito, whose business interests face fiscal and legal issues. With property values in decline throughout the downtown area, former County Treasurer Jim Rokakis suggests allowing property valuations to plummet and giving the market a chance to recover.