In a press conference on Wednesday, it was revealed that the state has reached an agreement with Google for the sale of the famed Thompson Center. Google will buy the entire building for $105 million following renovation by other organizations and the Thompson Center will be redeveloped as an office suite for Google’s workforce. Google welcomed its workforce back to offices in April and has expressed plans to add thousands more workers.
Earlier this year Thompson Center located at 100 W Randolph Street in The Loop was sold with a planned multi-million dollar renovation to the Prime Group. The Thompson Center was designed by famed postmodern architect Helmut Jahn and opened in 1985 as the State of Illinois Center. The Prime Group which is headed by Michael Reschke of JAHN Architects made bid for the Thompson Center in April. The developer had planned a $300 million renovation to execute a gut rehab of the facility including opening the atrium to the outdoors and enclosing the work floors to reduce heat expenses, as well as renovating all of the floors. In the original plan, the state would eventually buy back parts of the building after Prime Group’s renovation.
Chicago YIMBY wants to highlight some of the preservation wins seen across the city in the last few years, with updates as of late having demonstrated the importance of preserving the city’s architectural legacy. Recent examples include the Washington Park National Bank redevelopment in Woodlawn where the redesign now incorporates the existing facade after locals demanded it be saved, and Epworth Church in Edgewater where buyers pulled their demolition application this week. Varying in sizes, restoration projects keep the city’s history alive in a tangible way for many.
The State of Illinois has officially signed a contract selling the Thompson Center at 100 W Randolph Street in The Loop. The controversial but architecturally significant building located on the corner with N Clark Street will now receive a multi-million dollar renovation that will forever change its appearance and use. The winning bid for the center came from the Prime Group headed by Michael Reschke with JAHN Architects, the firm of the center’s original architect Helmut Jahn, leading the design efforts for the renovation.
The State of Illinois has selected a buyer for the controversial Thompson Center located at 100 W Randolph Street in The Loop. The building, which opened in 1985, was designed by famed architect Helmut Jahn who designed other influential Chicago structures like Terminal 1 at O’Hare International Airport. The sale represents the end of a multi-year process which began in 2018 under the previous governor.
