The state of Illinois is in final negotiations to sell the James R. Thompson Center for $70 million to a developer who would spare one of the Loop’s most iconic — and controversial — buildings from the wrecking ball, Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced Wednesday.
Pritzker has been trying to unload the aging 17-story office building, designed by renowned architect Helmut Jahn, who was killed in bicycle accident in May, since taking office in 2019. The sale was something his predecessor, Republican Bruce Rauner, pushed for years but never got done.
Exterior view of the Thompson Center in Chicago's Loop on Thursday, Nov. 19, 2020. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
The state selected a company led by Michael Reschke, chairman and CEO of real estate developer The Prime Group, as the buyer from the two bids submitted this fall. Reschke’s JRTC Holdings is working with Jahn’s firm on its plan to revamp a building that has inspired strong opinions since opening in 1985.
The redevelopment plan calls for installing a glass curtain wall to separate the office floors from the the soaring atrium, which should alleviate many of the heating and cooling issues and noise problems the building has faced during its lifetime, Reschke said.
“That atrium will become the monumental entrance to the future office building, and it will be unlike any other entrance in the city, and for that matter in the country,” he said.
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While the state and the developer are still finalizing terms, plans call for the state to own and occupy about a third of the newly developed building.
“State employees will be there to support the Loop’s continued economic revitalization for years to come,” Pritzker said.
Selling the building will save the state, and taxpayers, an estimated $20 million per year over the next 30 years through consolidating office leases and reducing operating expenses, according to the governor’s office.
Renderings by Jahn Architecture Inc for a remodeled James R. Thompson Center. (Jahn Architecture Inc / HANDOUT)
Renderings by Jahn Architecture Inc for a remodeled James R. Thompson Center. (Jahn Architecture Inc / HANDOUT)
In addition to other office space in a prime Loop location, the redeveloped building could include a hotel on the upper levels, Reschke said.
He estimated the overhaul will take about two years at a cost of about $280 million, below the $325 million price tag for needed upgrades the state has cited.
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The CTA’s Clark/Lake station that occupies part of the building will remain in operation throughout construction.
The state is moving forward, meanwhile, with long-term plans to relocate much of its downtown workforce.
The state in January paid $73.3 million to buy a 17-story, 429,316-square-foot Near West Side office building that was previously home to regional offices of PepsiCo.
Pritzker signed a bill in April 2019 authorizing the sale of the Thompson Center, but the coronavirus pandemic that came less than a year later sharply drove down demand for downtown commercial space.
The governor’s office said it expects to reach a final agreement to sell the building ahead of an April 5 deadline and to close on the transaction this summer.
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To the chagrin of preservationists, who consider the Jahn building an iconic example of postmodern architecture, state officials had previously said they have no preference whether new owners tear down the existing structure, which officials say would cost $325 million to repair.
But Pritzker said he was pleased that the building would largely be preserved and said the state is working to find another way to honor its namesake, former Republican Gov. James R. “Big Jim” Thompson, who died last year. Thompson had served on the board of directors two of Reschke’s companies, Reschke said.
Renderings by Jahn Architecture Inc for a remodeled James R. Thompson Center. (Jahn Architecture Inc / HANDOUT)
Preservationists also applauded Wednesday’s announcement.
Preservation groups Landsmarks Illinois, which has included the Thompson Center on its list of the state’s most endangered historic places, said in a statement that it was “thrilled to hear the governor has selected a developer for the Thompson Center that plans to reuse the building instead of demolishing what is one of the most iconic and noted examples of Post Modernism in Chicago.”
“This news is especially encouraging given that it comes at a time when the National Park Service is currently reviewing a National Register of Historic Places nomination for the building,” the group said.
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In June, a state advisory panel voted to nominate the building to the National Register of Historic Places over objections from the Department of Central Management Services and the State Historic Preservation Office. The state agencies argued in documents that the building is not a great example of postmodern architecture, that Jahn was not a premier practitioner of the style and that the Thompson Center was not one of his best works.
Still, the Historic Preservation Office went forward with submitting the nomination, commissioned by Landmarks Illinois.
dpetrella@chicagotribune.com.
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