“A neglected part of downtown Chicago is perking up as Alphabet Inc. redevelops a 1980s-vintage building designed to house legions of state government workers.
“Startups and other small companies have been snapping up space in the LaSalle Corridor district, which once served as the city’s financial center and as backdrop for movies from The Dark Knight to The Untouchables. The catalyst: the renovation of the James R. Thompson Center, where Alphabet’s Google plans to start moving workers next year.
“The real estate rush — part of a wider phenomenon often dubbed the ‘Google effect’ in which the tech giant drives real estate investment around its offices — is fueling signs of recovery in a hard-hit part of downtown as Chicago struggles to rebound from the pandemic. Since Google announced the project in 2022, office leasing volume has advanced 14% in LaSalle Corridor, compared with a 13% drop in the broader Central Loop district of which it’s a part.
“Within just a half-mile radius of the Thompson Center, the gain is 23%, according to real estate brokerage CBRE Group Inc.
“‘We’re just getting started in terms of being able to see the Google effect,” said Jeffrey Cheng, chief executive officer of Nautilus Solar Energy, which relocated from New Jersey to Chicago last year and took space near the Thompson Center. “The commercialization of this area is only going to continue to increase, which is going to be great for our employees and our company just to be an ancillary beneficiary of that effect.”
“Google’s investment has a complement in a JPMorgan Chase & Co. renovation just three blocks away. The bank, which is requiring employees to be in the office five days a week, is overhauling its longtime office tower with a revamp of all floors plus a new lobby, gym and food hall-style cafeteria.
“The ‘combined effect’ of the JPMorgan and Google projects will boost the neighborhood, said Anthony Maggiore, managing director and segment head of Midwest and Canada commercial banking. Google has said it eventually plans to purchase the Thompson Center from the developers managing the revamp, signaling a long-term investment in the area comparable to JPMorgan’s.
“The Thompson Center project will breathe new life into downtown, said Rob Biederman, head of US state and local government affairs for Google, adding that the company has a history of preserving and reusing historic structures.
“It will take years to see the full effect of Google’s move, brokers cautioned. No other major companies have signed new leases on LaSalle recently, although CoStar News, a real estate information platform, has reported that market-data provider Morningstar is weighing whether to lease space from Google.
“Startups such as ElectronX, a power-derivatives exchange, are betting that Google’s presence will bolster the neighborhood. The area also has strong transit options and a wealth of offices, hotels and restaurants within walking distance.
“‘From a recruitment perspective, from just that proximity perspective, I would expect there to be lots of other more innovative companies coming in around here,’ said Sam Tegel, CEO of power-derivatives exchange company ElectronX, which recently moved into a building across the street from the Thompson Center. ‘That gave us comfort and confidence.'” (Davis, Bloomberg, 5/22/26)
The Thompson Center was a Preservation Chicago 7 Most Endangered in 2016, 2018, 2019 and 2020. The preservation advocacy effort was long and challenging, but ultimately proved to be highly worthwhile. The building is being fully comprehensively modernized and will become a home to Google.
Governor James R. Thompson wanted the State of Illinois Building (later renamed the Thompson Center) to stimulate the Central Loop in the early 1980s. Thanks to a long and successful preservation campaign, and visionary developers and decision makers 40 years later, the Thompson Center as Google’s Midwest HQ will again have a huge beneficial impact on the Central Loop.
From ‘Impossible to Inevitable,’ the Thompson Center reuse is a perfect example of the incredible power of preservation to generate economic development.
Read the full story at Bloomberg/Silicon Valley
- Google ignites real estate revival in old Chicago financial hub, Miranda Davis, Bloomberg/Silicon Valley, 5/22/26
- Morningstar targets Google’s Chicago Thompson Center redevelopment for future home, Companies are in talks over leasing part of Helmut Jahn-designed building, Ryan Ori, CoStar News, 4/21/26
- Morningstar may move into Chicago’s Thompson Center after Google renovations, Adam Harrington and Jessica Popowcer, CBS Chicago, 4/23/26
- Morningstar to lease big chunk of Loop’s Thompson Center from Google; Billionaire Joe Mansueto’s firm in talks for technology giant’s redevelopment of Chicago’s former state government HQ, TRD Staff, 4/21/26
- Thompson Center Will Keep Its Name, With Google Planning A 2027 Move-In
Leasing is now open for retail and office space in the iconic Loop building, which will serve as the tech giant’s new Chicago headquarters for 2,000 workers, Melody Mercado, Block Club Chicago, 3/17/26 - Thompson Center website
- Inside Google’s $280 Million Plan to Save a Chicago Landmark (12:48), MegaBuilds, 2/27/26
- Google makes progress on Chicago headquarters with windows update; The new exterior glass is expected to help keep the building cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter. But it certainly changes the structure’s look and feel, Lee Bey, Chicago Sun-Times, 8/22/25
- Google’s high-profile renovation of iconic Chicago building gives new look to heart of city; Tech giant’s Thompson Center project drives conversations about downtown, Ryan Ori CoStar News, 7/16/25
- Redeveloped Thompson Center will offer public gathering spaces, new renderings released by Google show, Brian Rogal, Chicago Tribune, 11/1/24
- New Google rendering gives an early glimpse of former Thompson Center atrium’s future; The rendering obtained by the Sun-Times is the first look Google has provided of its vision for the remade interior of the Helmut Jahn-designed icon, Lee Bey, Chicago Sun Times, 10/31/24