Republican leaders in the Illinois General Assembly are renewing efforts to sell the James R. Thompson Center, that gleaming, inefficient building best known for housing a CTA station and a Taco Bell. One plan to redevelop the current site of the 1.2-million-square-foot building includes the construction of 1,7000-foot tower—the tallest in the city, if realized.
State Rep. Jim Durkin and Sen. Christine Radogno will introduce a bill that would permit the state to sell the Thompson Center, Durkin told Crain’s Chicago Business. The sale of the 16-story building could generate an estimated $220 million and save the state $326 million in deferred maintenance costs, according to the Illinois Department of Central Management Services.
In 2015, Governor Bruce Rauner announced a plan to sell sell the Thompson Center. The proposed sale would have likely led to the demolition of the building and redevelopment of the site. The plan never made it to a vote, but Durkin said state GOP leaders are hoping the current legislative session will produce a different result. “The biggest issue we have right now is finding a way to break through the budget impasse. But there are other things we can do. Being more smart with state properties is one of them.”
The new plan still faces an uphill climb. Legislation would need to be passed in order for the formal process of selling the building to begin. Other barriers include the location of the Thompson Center—which sits above a portion of the city's Pedway system and the CTA Blue Line—and the fact that Boston-based Winthrop Realty Trust and Chicago-based Marc Realty control retail space in the building until 2034.
Conceptual renderings were created by Chicago-based architectural firm Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture as part of the revised proposal. The renderings show multiple options for the site, including a three-tower development or construction of a single skyscraper that would replace Willis Tower as the city's tallest building.
Here's what a redevelopment of the Thompson Center site could look like.
Single-tower option
Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture
Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture
Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture
Multi-tower option
Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture
Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture
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