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

[sentinel]

Well shit, this is fantastic.

[twister244]

Put me down as also happy this isn't going away. I know we want a supertall as much as the next person, but there are plenty of other lots in downtown where one can be put. This is worth saving.

[r18tdi]

Let's also take a moment here to appreciate the sheer hutzpah (hubris?) of Bob Dunn thinking he could pull off a block-sized skyscraper project here AND One Central at the same damn time. Lol

[Chi-Sky21]

It is not like people still are not going to gather there, it will still be sheltered from rain/snow/wind and on top of a major transportation hub. The real key for me is how that space transitions into the rest, most of the lower levels should still have food/ retail i would think.

[Romero]

Proud Chicagoan

I grew up in Millgate next to South Works. After Penn State with couple of Chemical Engineering degrees in hand, I started working as a Process Design Engineer for Amoco in 1973 in their just opened headquarters at 200 Randolph. Back then, i said i was proud to be a Chicagoan and I am back home. i moved to Chevron and California in 1975. The news that the Thompson Center will be retained is a tribute to the Jahn legacy and Chicago. That announcement continues to make me proud to be a Chicagoan.

[Randomguy34]

The other proposal is from Bob Dunn and they were gonna build multiple skyscrapers, no idea how tall. Lol looking at the math, both proposals require the state to buy space in either proposal

But when that work is completed—tentatively in 2024—the state is slated to pay $148 million to buy back about 427,000 square feet on floors two through seven in the building, which Reschke's group will have renovated. Another option on the table is for the state to pay a higher amount in installments starting at $18.50 per square foot per year escalating by 1.75% annually for 30 years.

That means the state will ultimately have paid at least $78 million in a move that gives it renovated offices, unloads the building's massive deferred maintenance costs—key to the savings Pritzker touted today—and gives the Prime Group venture control of about two-thirds of the property.

Under that bid, Dunn's group proposed to buy the Thompson Center for as much as $122 million and demolish it to make room for multiple high-rises on the site. The state would be a 350,000-square-foot anchor in one of the buildings and would be obligated to buy it back, beginning with a $69 million equity investment upfront. As a perk for the state, that equity would allow the state to pull in annual distributions from the property's income totaling $350 million over 30 years.

Aside from the upfront cost, Dunn's group would have then offered the state two options to buy the property: One in which the state would pay $250 million upfront and the other in which it would pay in escalating installments totaling $1 billion over 30 years.

https://www.chicagobusiness.com/comm...hompson-center

[marothisu]

The option they agreed to obviously is less than anticipated but also it will save taxpayers money which is a good thing. it'll probably get lost in the fold on some people who believe everyone *always* wants to do everything to raise taxes. From a long term economic standpoint I don't know which is the better deal but I appreciate that it might save taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars up front to accept this deal instead of the other, and still have a plan to revitalize it into something that will generate economically.

[sentinel]

The whole situation is made better by the fact that Jahn (the firm) is in charge of the renovation of their own design. Poetic justice of sorts.

[Mr Downtown]

I guess half a loaf is better than none, but . . .

I sure would have preferred to see it restored to its original glory rather than saving only the structure. Invest in the double-glazing that Jahn specified but the state VE'd out 40 years ago. Wall off the upper floors from the atrium if necessary for noise and security. Fix the airflow and glare problems (we can do wonderful things nowadays with frits). But keep it the great salmon, aqua, and silver second state capitol Jahn and Thompson dreamed of. Not more than a decade from now, folks will be passing around pictures of what the building looked like in 1985 with the caption We used to have a country. A proper country. They'll be utterly incredulous that some opportunists obliterated its grandeur in a well-intentioned—aren't they always?—2024 remuddling.

Folks dreaming of supertalls never explain what would fill such a thing. Government is really the only sector with any office demand in this part of the Loop, and they don't want tiny floorplates built at high costs per square foot. Residential? There are lots of places in Chicago with views that are easier to promote to overseas buyers.

[TR Devlin]

Originally Posted by Mr Downtown

I guess half a loaf is better than none, but . . .

I sure would have preferred to see it restored to its original glory rather than saving only the structure. Invest in the double-glazing that Jahn specified but the state VE'd out 40 years ago. Wall off the upper floors from the atrium if necessary for noise and security. Fix the airflow and glare problems (we can do wonderful things nowadays with frits). But keep it the great salmon, aqua, and silver second state capitol Jahn and Thompson dreamed of. Not more than a decade from now, folks will be passing around pictures of what the building looked like in 1985 with the caption We used to have a country. A proper country. They'll be utterly incredulous that some opportunists obliterated its grandeur in a well-intentioned—aren't they always?—2024 remuddling.

[Gedung Tinngi]

Super excited the building will stay. Absolutely fantastic!

Truly am eager to see renderings for the proposed interior renovations. Especially how the "dome" of the atrium is articulated. I'ma little concerned we don't see any visuals from a more elevated perspective.

Also, the color choice - Hoping this doesn't end up looking like a larger version of the old Crate and Barrel building. Just please don't over sanitize the textural and visual splendor.

Also, it appears the Beast might be taken away. ?.?.?

Originally Posted by galleyfox

[galleyfox]

Originally Posted by Toasty Joe

130 N Franklin - like this site - would be a great spot for a non-blue glass supertall to break up "the wall"



This site sits on top of our two busiest train lines and, if tall enough, would boast amazing panoramic views of our skyline, lake, sunsets, and basically another city's worth of buildings rise in West Loop. It could be the One Vanderbilt of Chicago. I'm sure a well-thought mixed use scheme could've done very well here also.

I'm not the biggest fan of the building to begin with, but appreciate its postmodern campiness as a relic of its time. Unfortunately looks like that will be renovated.

Patience is a virtue. One of the things that makes Chicago architecture so notable is not so much that individual buildings are the greatest of the era, but that there are multiple styles spanning decades coexisting in close proximity.

I’m no fan of the Thompson Center, and I think the adulation for it is overwrought, but it’s hardly a blight on the neighborhood. The average office building, especially a government office building, will generate more traffic than the tallest condominium, so it’s not like the space is being misappropriated.

The prospect of a One Vanderbilt design is not so thrilling that any of us should lament a Thompson Center renovation. If in the year 2100, vanity offices are back in vogue, no problem, there will still be prime locations in the Loop available.

[chicubs111]

Not sure where all this talk about other lots in the loop for supertalls just laying around... this is one of the last major large sites in the core loop along with 130 north franklin. So the fact you can get a supertall in this area is pretty much close to finished. This location would of been perfect for something mixed use with the theatre district around the corner. Could of have been a building to really energize the loop in a way block 37 was supposed to...now we get a sterile office building that does none of that. Also regarding floor plate size ..the trend now is switching in office buildings from the massive floor plates to somewhat smaller since the hybrid work environment seems to be taking hold. Companies don't need the same amount of space of everyone on the same floor. The rise of more boutique taller (higher floor heights) and somewhat thinner office buildings will become a new trend taking hold.

[galleyfox]

Originally Posted by chicubs111

Not sure where all this talk about other lots in the loop for supertalls just laying around... this is one of the last major large sites in the core loop along with 130 north franklin. So the fact you can get a supertall in this area is pretty much close to finished. This location would of been perfect for something mixed use with the theatre district around the corner. Could of have been a building to really energize the loop in a way block 37 was supposed to...now we get a sterile office building that does none of that. Also regarding floor plate size ..the trend now is switching in office buildings from the massive floor plates to somewhat smaller since the hybrid work environment seems to be taking hold. Companies don't need the same amount of space of everyone on the same floor. The rise of more boutique taller (higher floor heights) and somewhat thinner office buildings will become a new trend taking hold.

There is simply no demand for such a tower in the Loop right now. And the Thompson Center can always be redeveloped a few generations in the future.

Why the rush?

A single mixed-use building isn’t going to dramatically move the needle from what’s already there. Adding a Cheesecake Factory at the bottom isn’t going to change that.

Lakeshore East and South Loop have thousands of units and are still sleepy neighborhoods. The Thompson Center already generates as much foot traffic as is reasonable for even a very large office.

If you want to create more nightlife, then converting some of the retail along State St to dining and entertainment will be far more bang for the buck.

[Gedung Tinngi]

"Just wait 20 years, someone will try to replace the blue panels, and it won't be allowed."

– Helmut Jahn, interviewed by Richard Lacayo in "Battle of Starship Chicago" Time Magazine, Feb. 4, 1985.

[Mr Downtown]

It's a perfect example of what we preservationists call "the 40-year pox." After 40 years, every architectural movement and its exemplar buildings are viewed as hideously ugly.

After 60 years, people wail "why didn't they save and restore that incredible building?"

[Chicago_Forever]

Originally Posted by chicubs111

Not sure where all this talk about other lots in the loop for supertalls just laying around... this is one of the last major large sites in the core loop along with 130 north franklin. So the fact you can get a supertall in this area is pretty much close to finished. This location would of been perfect for something mixed use with the theatre district around the corner. Could of have been a building to really energize the loop in a way block 37 was supposed to...now we get a sterile office building that does none of that. Also regarding floor plate size ..the trend now is switching in office buildings from the massive floor plates to somewhat smaller since the hybrid work environment seems to be taking hold. Companies don't need the same amount of space of everyone on the same floor. The rise of more boutique taller (higher floor heights) and somewhat thinner office buildings will become a new trend taking hold.

You're obviously not familiar with the Loop. Yes, 130 Franklin is the only open lot left but there are over half dozen (huge) parking garages circling the Loop that I'd rather see make way for a supertall than the JTC. I do hope Reschke take advantage of the allowable FAR and build the supertall Jahn envisioned as part of the reimagining of the JTC in the future. I mean, this is the same guy that proposed the Fordham/Chicago Spire and the original Walsdorf Astoria so there's hope, I'd like to think.

[chicubs111]

Originally Posted by Chicago_Forever

You're obviously not familiar with the Loop. Yes, 130 Franklin is the only open lot left but there are over half dozen (huge) parking garages circling the Loop that I'd rather see make way for a supertall than the JTC. I do hope Reschke take advantage of the allowable FAR and build the supertall Jahn envisioned as part of the reimagining of the JTC in the future. I mean, this is the same guy that proposed the Fordham/Chicago Spire and the original Walsdorf Astoria so there's hope, I'd like to think.

Please tell what parking garages are the size of a full block like Thompson center in the central loop? A supertall in the loop is gonna need a very large lot considering since Chicago doesn't do tall and thin... there are maybe 2 lots . Outside the loop fringes and south loop are not what im talking about.

[thegoatman]

Can someone tell me what's so special about this building. The way people are reacting you would think this is the Hagia Sophia or something. I mean it's a piece of decent architecture, but nothing mind blowing. I don't walk past it and think "damn this is amazing".

They're literally just renovating it and adding more glass. Literally looks the same in the renderings.

Someone help me see the light.

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by thegoatman

The way people are reacting you would think this is the Hagia Sophia Chicago's version of The Pantheon.

yes.