“Back in December, Gov. J.B. Pritzker executed a spin move that would have scored well in an Olympic competition for policy shifts. After months of talking down the prospects for the state-owned Thompson Center in the Loop, suggesting it was good for nothing but a teardown, he accepted a proposal to not only save the building but for the state to still own about 30% of it.
“Preservationists loved the move, as did those who, regardless of how they viewed the architecture, liked the sustainability of using what’s already there. The deal got the state out of a financial tangle. And it promises a shot in the arm for a part of the Loop that needs it — provided that Pritzker’s chosen developer, Michael Reschke, can pull off his end of the bargain.
“The Thompson Center is a critical piece of the central Loop, that part of the main business district that centers on La Salle Street, long the city’s financial hub. La Salle is full of distinguished buildings, with the street seeming to cut through cliffs of limestone and terra cotta that stop at the Chicago Board of Trade Building at Jackson Boulevard. It’s a classic urban vista.
“But it’s facing capitalism’s version of climate change. Business anchors such as BMO Harris and Bank of America are moving elsewhere downtown, drawn to high-rise views and naming rights on buildings. Financial exchanges don’t draw physical crowds of traders anymore. And some regard the office space as too outmoded for today’s needs. Sources say the vacancy rate around La Salle Street is 20% or more for both offices and retail.
“The Thompson Center, occupying the full block at La Salle, Clark, Randolph and Lake streets, threatened to deaden the area further. Pritzker’s pirouette kept it from sitting empty. Reschke, chairman of Prime Group, insists the building, costing him $70 million to buy but much more to fix up, can lead a La Salle revival.
He’s had time to analyze what he agreed to purchase. Reschke said he hopes to close on the sale with the state this summer and to start the expensive overhaul in the fall. His remarks betray no buyer’s remorse.
“‘We’ve been getting a lot of interest in this building. We are very excited about its prospects,’ he said last week. ‘People are starting to realize the benefits of a central Loop location again,’ he said. Those would include superior transit access. The building itself is the L’s hub, with six transit lines stopping there. Reschke said when businesses shop for space, “it’s really not so much about [rental] rate, believe it or not. It’s the intangibles, the transit, the air purification systems. Employers are more concerned about conveniences and amenities, anything that makes for a cool, nice environment.”
“Sometimes, all it takes is one flashy project to make an area fashionable again. People love or hate the Thompson Center, but if it powers the central Loop’s turnaround, it will have earned the right to be called a landmark.” (Roeder, Chicago Sun-Times, 3/14/22)