CHCAGO | Thompson Center redevelopment | Jahn's MASTERPIECE will be saved!!!!!!!!!!!

[le_brew]

I anxiously check for updates on this; wasn’t it supposed to start this year? I’ve checked Jahn/ for new renderings, details, etc. Nothing to date.

[ithakas]

According to this thread a newsletter I read linked to the state just moved their offices out less than a month ago, so would probably hang tight for a bit:

https://twitter.com/anacaprana/statu...98808873488386

I'm guessing Jahn won't release any more renderings for a project this high-profile and meaningful to them until the time is right.

[galleyfox]

Ummm… what is this? I know Google has been buying real estate, but I was not exactly expecting the Thompson Center to be part of their portfolio.

Google in Talks To Buy Chicago’s Thompson Center
https://www.costar.com/article/56463...hompson-center



https://www.forbes.com/sites/jackkel...h=6b6a4ffcd866

https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2022/04/13/...22-mapped.html

The plans, which also include expanding Google’s footprint in Chicago, Atlanta, New York, and Washington, D.C., will add at least 10,000 new full-time jobs, he indicated.

https://www.architecturaldigest.com/...realestate/amp

[SIGSEGV]

Originally Posted by galleyfox

Ummm… what is this? I know Google has been buying real estate, but I was not exactly expecting the Thompson Center to be part of their portfolio.

Google in Talks To Buy Chicago’s Thompson Center
https://www.costar.com/article/56463...hompson-center



https://www.forbes.com/sites/jackkel...h=6b6a4ffcd866

https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2022/04/13/...22-mapped.html


https://www.architecturaldigest.com/...realestate/amp

Knowing some Googlers, if this happens, I bet some would move into a pedway-connected building so they never have to go outside.

[Randomguy34]

Well, the Thompson Center certainly has plenty of open floor plates

[Handro]

It would be a pretty sweet building for a tech company, especially since google has the $$ to do some wildly expensive renovations.

[BuildThemTaller]

Originally Posted by galleyfox

Ummm… what is this? I know Google has been buying real estate, but I was not exactly expecting the Thompson Center to be part of their portfolio.

Google in Talks To Buy Chicago’s Thompson Center
https://www.costar.com/article/56463...hompson-center



https://www.forbes.com/sites/jackkel...h=6b6a4ffcd866

https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2022/04/13/...22-mapped.html


https://www.architecturaldigest.com/...realestate/amp

ChiCAgo IS iN a doWnWarD SpIRal

[Chi-Sky21]

The reports of its death have been GREATLY exaggerated!

[twister244]

I couldn't get past the pay wall, but is there any indication Google would keep a part of the building open to the public? Or would they just occupy the entire building outright?

I would hope for the former. This building does kinda seem like a "Google" like building... With the open floor plans, overall looks, etc.

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by twister244

I couldn't get past the pay wall, but is there any indication Google would keep a part of the building open to the public? Or would they just occupy the entire building outright?

I would hope for the former. This building does kinda seem like a "Google" like building... With the open floor plans, overall looks, etc.

Very possible that they keep part of it as public if the sale goes through. They own Chelsea Market in Manhattan and have some offices in it, but also the market portion is completely public and very busy.

Of course, this is a different animal with a super wide open atrium in the middle. I'm sure it would take more time than when they just bought Chelsea Market. This probably needs some sort of work id that's the case.


A bit confusing overall as I thought there were previous, solid plans for this. But if it means putting hundreds of Google employees there then, no problem. Might even spur someone to try converting some nearby office to residential, who knows.

[ardecila]

Is this actually gonna be a Google office, or is Google just gonna own the building and be a landlord? Fulton Market fits their image as a company with a youthful, trendy workforce... Thompson Center is a cool building, but in a deeply uncool area.

Also, how does Reschke fit into this? Is he just taking the building from the state, doing a build-to-suit and then selling to Google? Big companies usually prefer to work with local developers who can navigate the complicated process of entitlements and construction. Or is Reschke out completely? I have lots of questions!

[galleyfox]

Originally Posted by marothisu

A bit confusing overall as I thought there were previous, solid plans for this. But if it means putting hundreds of Google employees there then, no problem. Might even spur someone to try converting some nearby office to residential, who knows.

It’s certainly out of left field, isn’t it?

But here are the State of Illinois and The Prime Group signing this buyback deal, and then along comes Google shopping for offices a few weeks later. Doh!

Bet that state deal got jettisoned out the airlock faster than light speed.

The state of Illinois on Thursday finalized a deal to sell the James R. Thompson Center for $70 million and then buy back about one-third of the building for more than double that amount.
…
The state entered into negotiations with Rechke’s JRTC Holdings in December, and the deal was signed just ahead of a Tuesday deadline set in state law.

The $70 million upfront payment to the state is dwarfed by the roughly $146 million the state will pay to buy back office space once the notoriously rundown building is renovated, a net cost of $76 million.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/polit...oam-story.html

[Handro]

Originally Posted by ardecila

Is this actually gonna be a Google office, or is Google just gonna own the building and be a landlord? Fulton Market fits their image as a company with a youthful, trendy workforce... Thompson Center is a cool building, but in a deeply uncool area.

Deeply uncool--until Google moves in and all the vacant office space (that costs a tiny fraction of comparable spaces in similar neighborhoods in SF and NY) downtown suddenly becomes very attractive to smaller tech companies... Pretty much the same thing happened in Fulton Market, right? There's been lots of talk of Google adding lots of new jobs in Chicago, maybe their Fulton Market office will be for engineers and tech workers and the new space would be for the front facing roles?

Unless I'm misreading this totally. Does Google have a RE arm now?

[ardecila]

Originally Posted by Handro

Unless I'm misreading this totally. Does Google have a RE arm now?

That's what I'm wondering, maybe Google is just looking to park cash in urban real estate at a time when other kinds of investments are not looking good.

Last I heard, they were fully committed to expanding in Fulton Market, either with Sterling Bay or another developer. If they're anything like Amazon in Seattle, they don't need their buildings to be connected or directly adjacent, but they need to be within walking distance of each other, not a mile apart.

[Via Chicago]

is there a non-paywalled version beyond the headline? any details beyond the headline?

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by Handro

Deeply uncool--until Google moves in and all the vacant office space (that costs a tiny fraction of comparable spaces in similar neighborhoods in SF and NY) downtown suddenly becomes very attractive to smaller tech companies... Pretty much the same thing happened in Fulton Market, right? There's been lots of talk of Google adding lots of new jobs in Chicago, maybe their Fulton Market office will be for engineers and tech workers and the new space would be for the front facing roles?

Unless I'm misreading this totally. Does Google have a RE arm now?

Exactly. Google could go into the uncoolest area and magically make it cool. Not many people actually thinks meatpacking itself is cool but Google showed up to it in Chicago and voila.

Google is investing in real estate but I think everytime they do it, they put some offices in there. Just like McDonald's at least. They own the real estate but also have their business on/in it. I'm not aware of any specific real estate investing arm that Google or its parent Alphabet has. They have typically invested via venture capital but buying real estate and purely being a landlord without them having offices there would be a first

[galleyfox]

Originally Posted by marothisu

Google is investing in real estate but I think everytime they do it, they put some offices in there. Just like McDonald's at least. They own the real estate but also have their business on/in it. I'm not aware of any specific real estate investing arm that Google or its parent Alphabet has. They have typically invested via venture capital but buying real estate and purely being a landlord without them having offices there would be a first

If Google were just looking to park money in real estate, would the Thompson Center really be the first choice? That’s not minor upkeep and some repairs. The building needs hundreds of millions of renovations just to start. The original Reschke plan is about the most cost effective plan for the building itself.

And then The Prime Group last month started negotiating for other LaSalle properties. That’s an awful lot of confidence.

Reschke, who earned the moniker “Harry Houdini” from Crain’s in 1999 for his ability to survive precarious financial situations in the city’s commercial real estate market, is trying to pull off another amazing escape. He’s eyeing more distressed Loop property after paying the state $70 million for the Thompson Center, the outlet reported. Reschke is leading what is likely to be an expensive makeover of the property.

His company Prime Group’s next purchase looks like it will be the loan attached to office buildings at 115 South LaSalle and 111 West Monroe Street, Crain’s reported, citing unidentified people familiar with the discussions. The buildings were longtime Chicago offices for BMO Harris Bank and law firm Chapman & Cutler, which lease about 900,000 square feet in the towers but are moving to the newly completed BMO Tower by Union Station.

https://therealdeal.com/chicago/2022...le-street/amp/

[Busy Bee]

_

[galleyfox]

Originally Posted by ardecila

That's what I'm wondering, maybe Google is just looking to park cash in urban real estate at a time when other kinds of investments are not looking good.

Last I heard, they were fully committed to expanding in Fulton Market, either with Sterling Bay or another developer. If they're anything like Amazon in Seattle, they don't need their buildings to be connected or directly adjacent, but they need to be within walking distance of each other, not a mile apart.

Here are some details

The Mountain View, California-based tech giant is seeking to buy the Helmut Jahn-designed building at 100 W. Randolph St., where it plans to expand its Chicago offices into a large portion of the 17-story building’s soon-to-be-renovated office space, according to people familiar with the deal.

It’s not known whether the Chicago developer, led by Chairman and CEO Mike Reschke, will flip the 1.2 million-square-foot structure to Google when Prime Group’s purchase is completed sometime this year or if Reschke will carry out his redevelopment plan for Google.

It’s unclear how Google’s deal to buy the building would affect that agreement, which calls for 1,300 state employees to be based in the renovated space. The price also could not be determined.

The deal is not done yet and could change. Reschke declined to comment on Google’s plans. A Google spokesperson pointed to a Chicago workforce of nearly 2,000 people and said that the company will “explore opportunities to ensure our physical space meets the needs of local Googlers.”

In April, just after Google parent Alphabet announced plans to invest $9.5 billion this year in office space and data centers, CoStar News reported that Google plans to add a large block of office space in Fulton Market.

Google has yet to publicly confirm plans for the Fulton Market expansion. The latest space, expected to be 200,000 square feet or more in the 16-story Fulton Labs building at 400 N. Aberdeen St., will continue the firm’s growth in the former meatpacking district.

[west-town-brad]

Originally Posted by Handro

Unless I'm misreading this totally. Does Google have a RE arm now?

the linked articles does state that this would be google office space, but google does have a significant investment operation and they lend their cash on hand (the billions of it) for things like car loans and credit cards.