The connection to Union Station is planned. I believe Riverside will construct a short extension of the Pedway through their site to the corner of Clinton/Van Buren, then the government needs to step up for the one block of Pedway from Van Buren to Ida B Wells.

That connection is part of the larger Union Station project, which is currently tied up in the pissing match between Metra and Amtrak.

I don't think there is a connection to OPO planned, there's not really a good way to thread it through the various levels of infrastructure there (Union Station tracks, Canal St Underpass, 290 onramps, etc).

I thank you much for your efforts in answering the question.

Thumbs up to you.

:tup:

What does the Clinton St Station under 290 look like today? On Streetview, there's construction/renovation happening, I don't know how old that image is.

Are there planned streetscape improvements for the sidewalks there? It'd be nice if they put some good lighting up around the Clinton station.

A block south, Northern Trust's 3000 employees are leaving the area in January 2020 for 333 S Wabash. Luckily, the Post Office is going to more than make up for that loss in the area.

Those leasing agents must be getting fat bonuses this year!
Wasn't it a few years ago when everyone was laughing that that British guy Sir Richard wanted to redevelop the Post Office?

It's pretty dismal. . . lots of homeless milling around. . . lost people with luggage looking for the Greyhound station. . . the Clinton subway station itself is old and in need of cleaning as well. . . not sure there's any incentive for the CTA to do so given it's probably not that busy of a station. . . yet. . .

. . .

^^^ People were laughing at Bill Davies (RIP) because he was a chump with a reputation for landbanking...

It's hidden enough that I literally didn't even know it was there while driving down Clinton many days to get to my workplace. Only realized it was there when I took the train there a relatively short time ago! :)

Honestly, the lighting and signage is terrible there. Not like I'm speeding down Clinton and don't notice anything around me, so it's a lighting/signage issue for sure.

Aaron (Glowrock)

Who apparently wasn't really a developer at all. These folks are usually pretty easy to spot, fwiw. I was calling it back then....as were some others.

I've always thought it would make sense for CDOT to relocate Megabus (and any other bus operators) to the space under the Ida B Wells/Congress viaduct, instead of using it for car parking. Similar to the Union Station Bus Terminal in DC, this way each bus provider could set up a little kiosk for ticketing and/or waiting on cold days, even on warmer days passengers could still wait under cover. Plus, it wouldn't be a dedicated building, so as the bus industry evolves they're not locked into a costly permanent building.

Passengers could wait under cover, and would have a direct connection to the Blue Line. If CDOT also extends the pedway from Union Station to the Blue Line stop, bus passengers could also have a direct connection to Metra (ideally this connection would extend to the Greyhound terminal as well).

Unfortunately, despite the almost-billion dollars spent on the Circle Interchange, it appears IDOT is intent on returning the space under the viaduct back to car parking. Right at the hub of the entire region's transit system. Ugh.

Crain Chicago is reporting that Pepsi co is near a big deal at the old post office . They are racking these companies up . This is turning out good for a building that was thought to be gone.

^ It is unbelievable! Their leasing team must be loaded with 10/10 blonde bombshells or extremely talented people or both! :cheers:

article https://www.chicagobusiness.com/comm...-lease-pepsico

Regarding the PepsiCo move, I have a little in depth knowledge of their reasoning.

Pepsi had quite a long term lease at 555 West Monroe (currently been there since 2002 when the building was built), well below market rent, and until recently, leased the entirety of the building. As the lease came closer to expiring, senior leadership didn't have a cohesive plan about future space needs at the building, or Chicago in general. Numerous layoffs within the building have dramatically cut the need for space and I believe their short term plans are to only occupy half of the building at most, which jives with what Crain's has. (~230K sq ft)

All of the buildings close to Union and Ogilvy have seen their rents increase materially over the past 10 years. Pepsi didn't want to absorb that increase, especially given the business units that operate in Chicago are not performing well financially. My guess is that the OPO offered something slightly (or even well) below market to get Pepsi to jump.

Perhaps the OPO is offering all of these companies something below market rate to get them in the door, knowing that large tenants like this are less likely to move than smaller firms when rates increase in the future? :shrug:

^ I think the weighted average signed office leases at OPO are a bit over $31 PSF. The according to CoStar, the West Loop submarket has an average of $36+ PSF. So that is likely the case.

601W is probably able to justify offering lower rents, despite being right next to Union Station, since the Old Post Office got over $100 mil in tax breaks. Otherwise, I would expect rents in the building going for a premium

That's a good piece of info. So the difference when leasing 200,000 sq ft is $1,000,000+/yr. Easily something an exec can claim as "savings" when justifying the move.

Right, millions in Federal historic tax credits.

Today's news makes mention of WeWork in the pipeline.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/colum...bpa-story.html

Aging well, with absolutely no inside knowledge of specific non-public deals or non-public prospective deals at the time.

Guess we will start calling you Nostradamus :haha:

Wholly agree though. Height gets the most attention, but in hindsight in conjunction with the BMO tower this could (imho of course) end up being the most significant development story of this cycle. By emphatically extending the commercial frontier from the Loop southwards, it may generate sufficient momentum and a feedback loop that could fuel that area for 10 years plus starting with Riverline and finally make the 78 come to fruition.

Also I believe the building itself and the riverfront revitalization will be stunning and grab a lot of people by surprise alone.

Not only what you all are saying, but I’m just glad it’s getting a complete reno. We can’t lose structures like this. OPO, Cook County Hospital—major successes.

Now we just need to see the Congress and Uptown Theatre rehabs come to fruition.

Until he starts predicting supertall designs with napkin sketches I'm the only Nostradamus around here ..

^remember to give credit to the detailed description... ;)

Uber’s new space will be as big as 24 football fields and spread over two floors. It’s the largest lease signed in the building that sat vacant for years but is quickly filling up amid an $800 million-plus redevelopment by New York-based developer 601W Cos.



“When we saw the level of talent we could attract here — people here work hard, they’re thankful for their jobs, they have this kind of Midwestern work ethic that flows through the offices — that really encouraged us to say OK, you know what, let’s double down on Chicago and let’s double down in a way that makes a statement. That it’s not just operations, it’s tech.” Khosrowshahi said.

A football field is 57,600 square feet - so 463,000 square feet is the size of
8 football fields. Their math is a bit off.


Well yeah of course. There's a good number of people from the midwest or people who went to college in the midwest who are in the Bay Area working in tech too. That makes some sense. Also, people like to get shit done and take pride in their work in the midwest I find.

Good that companies like Uber realize it for things like tech. Hopefully they pay well which will be good for other companies in the city as it could force them to pay even more with that many new tech hires.

Uber and other signed tenants should advocate to the city and CTA for a pedway connection from the building to the Clinton st station.

Wouldn't that be ironic...

I'm going to assume like 90% of this forum will be here:

https://openhousechicago.org/sites/s...o-post-office/

Probably not. it's still just the lobby that we all saw last year.

I missed it last year and was planning to go this year... is it worth the trip if you missed last year?

When are tenants supposed to start moving in?

A Tribune article from April reported that the first tenants would begin moving in by September. So, unless there have been unpublished delays, any minute now?

https://www.chicagobusiness.com/comm...ld-post-office

September 17, 2019 10:33 AM UPDATED 23 MINUTES AGO

Cboe confirms HQ move to Old Post Office
The parent company of the Chicago Board Options Exchange also is moving its trading floor to the CBOT Building.

CRAIN'S STAFF

They need all that space to store their worthless stock certificates.

Wow, stunning. It's like our very own Reichs Chancellery.

Not to mention the piles of money that they're raking in by abusing the drivers.

Kind of, but this was built back in the days when things like Post Offices were built to impress - along with other government projects like Hoover Dam - who would ever image something as utilitarian as a dam with terrazzo floors, amazing metal work etc.

My favorite example is the old post office in Singapore - built in the British colonial era, it screams "we're Britain, and you're not." Now a hotel, it is still awesome.

^ Funny you don't notice the irony of saying this, yet also pointing out the below:

Do ya think the British just created their wealth out of thin air? I think a lot of people got "abused" (more like murdered...cough cough) in order to plunder the wealth to build these so-called great "we are British" buildings

Heck even the Post Office in Uptown was built in the middle of WW2, has huge carved granite eagles in front of the building, and huge murals painted inside.

It just goes back to the culture at that time, that people and buildings should "dress to impress" while in public.

and by the '70s the USPS was building shit-burgers like this: https://www.google.com/maps/@41.9686...7i16384!8i8192

once upon a time they actually gave a shit: https://www.google.com/maps/@42.0471...7i16384!8i8192

Did the USPS actually build that turd or just move in. Take away the sign and it could be any of a million doctor's offices or insurance agencies in the US.

^they built it after they moved out of the old lincoln square post office that was subsequently demolished.

and the site of the old post office in lincoln square is now a strip mall!!!

man, the '70s were just so chock-full of good ideas and decisions.


the original lincoln square post office:
https://forgottenchicago.com/pics/post/2311lawr.jpg
source: https://forgottenchicago.com/articles/pony-express/

Uggg, yea I hate that Lincoln Square post office from the 70's. And the one that demolished was so nice for a ugly strip mall, what a travesty. I prefer going to the Uptown Post Office now.

Was surfing the internet and found a blog talking about 5 CTA stations that badly need renovations. To no surprise, Clinton Blue Line was one of them. Fortunately, as a part of the Forest Park renovation they plan to build an entrance in front of the Post Office

https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-17VPucMJG...linton%2B2.JPG
https://www.metroblog.us/2019/09/5-c...e-need-of.html

Cool find rg34

The linked article also mentions the LaSalle Clinton stop. This is a disaster of a stop. Another one with a long platform leading nowhere, and no access from the street that doesn't involve stairs - 26 of them, I've counted. It is described as often desolate, but I don't know what the author is talking about. As more and more housing units come online is serves as a primary stop for Sloopers coming and going from ORD. Bury prime time it's very busy and during off hours it seems busier that those desolated stations the train passes through further north. It isn't traveler friendly - not only are the steps daunting, but the turnstiles are too narrow for a standard suitcase so you need to do the "get the attendant to open the gate, shove your bag through and then go through the turnstile before retrieving it." routine. With all those units opening on Wells, it would seem a prime place to add an exit from the West side of the platform, but I have no idea how they'd fit it in.

Steely Dan,

I can see at least an attempt at architectural language and interesting geometries in that post office design, even if it fails to create a memorable presence or convey civic power. This thing across the street though is a complete abomination of architecture and urban planning:

https://www.google.com/maps/@41.9685...7i16384!8i8192

Like, who comes up with this trash?

The post office is a beautiful expression of function, careful proportion, and limited ornament where it can really make a statement in a way that most contemporary buildings just don't seem to be able to muster up.

That whole section of Lawrence is terrible. Except HarvestTime of course. It's the best grocery! Oh and Hellenic Bakery and Goosefoot

With all the news of move-ins, etc. I was reminded of the piece of property West of Canal and North of Harrison. This is the Holiday Inn, the sad little shopping strip on Harrison and the Parking lot.

There was speculation awhile back that at least the Holiday Inn was for sale. Is there any news?