Chicago and Amazon are meant for each other.

A greenfield/close proximity "campus" sounds more logical to me. With tech companies that value culture, a 2000 foot vertical tube doesn't sound very inviting and collaborative, not to mention the range of uses they probably want.

On the other hand, if this doesn't nab Amazon, and stays a white elephant for several more years, I have some random ideas. The country's first urban format, transit-accessible Carmax (irony, right?), or the future site of the City auto pound, after they get kicked out by Vista from Wacker.

The only major tech company left who really thinks this way is Apple. Yea Google wants a big-er campus in Mountain View but they occupy lots of urban real estate across the country/world.

Another urban campus sounds like what they'll (Amazon) want since that's what they built/still are building in Seattle. They don't seem to be height averse.

Of course shortly after that tower was built, they entered a long, painful decline ...

The city will happily build that connection to land Amazon now.

Not to mention a clever activation of the riverfront/some adjacent property (Holiday Inn lot for starters.... please) could accommodate an "urban campus" feel.

And, along with the lot that little strip of trashy neglected storefronts, and heck, take down the Holiday Inn at the same time. Clean sweep.

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http://www.thepostofficechi.com/

Looks really nice.

The old 'sugar factory' building seem to still be standing to the far left.

Isn't that Riverwalk plaza where the first tower was proposed under the PD?

What's with the line of red vans. The Amazon Employee shuttles?

I'm surprised to see that band of something sticking out above the Congress cut through is still in the renderings. They certainly don't look original to the building, and are sort of ugly. Anyone know what they are?

I assumed those were food trucks.

This will be especially cool if the riverwalk ever gets built out in front of 300 S. riverside.

I believe so. The shorter, first phase tower would be north of Congress, and the mega tall in phase two would go on the southern side.

The fact that they're not showing a plaza south of congress makes me hopeful that they believe something can still go there in the future.

Quite a lot of activities available on the rooftop
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Well it is big enough you could play the Super Bowl on it.

Those interior renders really look like they are cloning ideas done at Merch Mart. That's a good thing, although it seems they are omitting the idea of giant atrium light wells seen in some past proposals.

That first render suggests an underbridge at VanBuren, and there certainly is dead space along the river at 300 South. (Curiously, there is a roadway visible there in Google Earth; I assume that's just railroad property?) Really, 300 South needs to be torn down and the whole half-block redeveloped from scratch.

I'd be more worried about replacing what's on the opposite side of Canal (the parking garage and that bus depot, which I hope is just temporary).

Look up union station redevelopment plans, the garage and bus depot will not remain long term.