From todays Sun-Times:
City, Mills hope to tout progress for Block 37
August 25, 2004
BY DAVID ROEDER STAFF REPORTER
City officials and the Mills Corp., master developer of the empty Block 37 site in the Loop, are preparing an announcement designed to show that its redevelopment plans are real. Sources said that around Sept. 1, officials hope to disclose that after lengthy negotiations, WBBM-Channel 2 has committed to occupy an office building on the block.
Details about the Chicago Transit Authority's use of the site also are expected to be discussed. The CTA plans to use it for underground connections to new express trains serving O'Hare and Midway airports.
What isn't known is if Mills has any retail tenants to bring to the party. An anchor tenant will determine the project's look along State Street, and Mills needs a big name or two signed on the dotted line to make this megadeal look serious. One source said Mills has "three or four'' potential users for the site, which boosters once promised would be like Union Station, Disneyland and Times Square put together.
Mills Executive Vice President Steve Jacobsen, the guy spearheading Block 37, did not return calls. A spokeswoman for Channel 2 said the CBS affiliate, through corporate owner Viacom Inc., is still in negotiations with Mills and the city. The station is expected to anchor an office building at the northeast corner of Dearborn and Washington, across from the Daley Center Plaza.
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Tom in Chicago
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Near the day of Purification, there will be cobwebs spun back and forth in the sky.
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