CHCAGO | Thompson Center redevelopment | Jahn's MASTERPIECE will be saved!!!!!!!!!!!
State in deal to sell Thompson Center
Pritzker announced that the state has entered into exclusive negotiations with the Prime Group to sell the building, a move that the governor said would save taxpayers $800 million. https://www.chicagobusiness.com/gove...hompson-center Quote:
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^ WHAT!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?
it sounds like there might be a prayer of a hope of the building possibly being saved, at least in part! oh dear Pizza God, we need you now more than ever! |
$70 million huh? Not exactly the $300 million figure Rauner promised
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The Prime Group wants to complete the sale by 2022 and start construction by the end of next year.
Duration of renovation: 2 years but building remains open. State gov to continue leasing office space in the meantime Cost: $280 million Installation of curtain wall to separate offices from atrium. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FGqp9vZX...jpg&name=large https://twitter.com/alexnitkin/statu...178433028?s=21 |
https://www.chicagobusiness.com/gove...es-prime-group
State in deal to sell Thompson Center Pritzker announced that the state has entered into exclusive negotiations with the Prime Group to sell the building, a move that the governor said would save taxpayers $800 million. The new owners plan to preserve the structure. December 15, 2021 11:41 AM UPDATED 4 MINUTES AGO Quote:
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^ I'M TRULY STUNNED!
i had completely given up all hope that Jahn's masterpiece would be saved. |
$70 million for the thompson center
that's lower than the land value really https://www.chicagobusiness.com/gove...es-prime-group |
Nice, no supertall but this is a unique landmark so I'm glad it may not be getting torn down
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Love Love this news.
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Wow, excellent news!
I wonder if they will implement Jahn's idea of adding a supertall skyscraper at the southwest corner of the structure. Based on the article clippings above, it does not seem that is going to be the case, at least not in the immediate term. |
Wow. Very happy with this. Pritzker continues to impress me.
Looking forward to seeing some better images of those renderings. Looks like a lot of the red and blue colored panels are disappearing. Not quite sure how I feel about that. |
So no skyscraper? What a waste.
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For some separate context JDL paid $90 million for the parking lot where One Chicago is being built |
Isn't this the same guy who hired Lucien LaGrange to design that fugly RUI Plaza hotel in Streeterville?
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I'm really happy to hear this... I love this building and didn't want to see it demolished!
I guess we will hear more details later but I'm still not clear if this is just a renovation of the building period or will also add a tower on the side like the vision Jahn released a few years ago. |
https://s3-prod.chicagobusiness.com/...56.56%20PM.png
This image shows the JAHN logo in the corner. Perhaps there is still hope for a phase 2 vertical expansion? I will say that a part of me will miss the robin egg + salmon color scheme... |
This is way better than my previous prediction of Block 37(2). Much better to keep an architecturally significant unique building than adding a couple 50-60 floor generic towers. Height isn't everything.
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How are people excited about this? Looks like they're just sprucing and remodeling the building a bit? I expected more. I'm glad its not getting demolished, but still.
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Source: Succession via NYmag |
Love it. Great news. As far as the supertall disappointees go - this will just displaces that potential to a different location. I think with the city's deadline for 130 N Franklin will get something u/c there in 2022. Also this means JP Morgan will not be leasing here and they still need up to 1 million sqft as they previously said and will have to build that somewhere else. I actually think JP Morgan will build on 130 N Franklin but we'll see.
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This truly is great news. . . looks like they're going to modernize the facade and create a curtain wall to seal off the office space from the atrium, which was what I was hoping they would ultimately do. . .
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I’m pleased with this development proposal despite that I don’t care much for the Thompson center, only the atrium. But the improvements look great.
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Not too surprising that a contingent of people on a website called skyscraperpage aren't satisfied with this but they are wrong. Nobody will ever build something like the Thomson Center again because quite frankly it should have never been built in the first place. The design sacrificed economics for architecture. It's too bad the city had to basically give the thing away to save it, but I'm A-ok with this.
The current Thompson Center looks like shit because it's facade and interior have been left to decay for decades. Once completed this should look like a modernist gem next to the Daley Center and City Hall. What a trio that will make. |
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i cleared out all of the city vs. city crap.
please stay on topic folks. what a glorious day to be a chicagoan!!! |
What a remarkable outcome! I wonder what happens to the DuBuffet sculpture (Monument with Standing Beast)?
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I only hope a semblance of the food court's dumpiness is preserved. love that place.
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Jahn proposed adding a highrise too, but that was really just a sweetener to make redevelopment more financially feasible. Apparently it is feasible without the highrise, which means more of the plaza space can be preserved. I have some issues with the design as rendered... it looks sterile AF and has none of the personality of the original design. The usefulness of the atrium is greatly reduced by making it open-air, especially in winter. And it appears like this will lose a lot of the things that made Thompson Center great. The atrium provided a site for civic participation, and the food court provided some of the few affordable lunch options in the Loop. The replacement looks pretty soulless and corporate. BUT this is also highly schematic. Those huge 50' wide pices of glass will get more detail, and I'm sure the program for the building will be refined as well so there is lots of room for improvement. |
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but i guess it makes sense. they clearly figured theres no economical way to continue heating/cooling that space. |
Well shit, this is fantastic.
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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.
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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
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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.
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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. |
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
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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.
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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.
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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. |
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