State Buys New West Loop Office Building in Chicago
The interior of the James R. Thompson Center state building in downtown Chicago. The state is purchasing a $73-million building in Chicago’s West Loop to hold around 900 state employees.
The state is planning to move 1,000-employees from the James R. Thompson Center and leased space around the city of Chicago to a building the state was scheduled to finalize a purchase for Wednesday.
The 17-floor building at 555 W. Monroe St. was the former home of Pepsico’s Chicago headquarters. Pepsico has been scheduled to move to an office space in the old Chicago Post Office.
“The acquisition of 555 West Monroe is an important step in our effort to optimize the State’s real estate portfolio, reduce operating expenses, and enhance workforce and workplace performance,” Governor JB Pritzker said in a release Wednesday morning. “Since I took office, I’ve been focused on making sure that we manage our assets efficiently and maximize taxpayer savings. This building pays for itself because we’re terminating a patchwork of expensive downtown leases.”
The State currently leases office space in seven properties in the loop, at a cost of $21.3 million.
It likely means the eventual departure from the Thompson Center, which has been long maligned and criticized for its inefficiency and poor use of space.
In a release, the state says the department of Central Management Services determined that of the state employees located in downtown Chicago, approximately 2,200 employees at the Thompson Center and 1,300 employees in leased facilities, only about 900 employees require a Loop location. The remainder of the employees can be located elsewhere.
The state said Wednesday it will move approximately 1,000 employees to the new building at 555 W. Monroe and still plans to sell the Thompson Center.
It isn’t clear how the move impacts employees at the Michael Bilandic Building, formerly the State of Illinois Building, at 160 N. LaSalle St., across from the Thompson Center. The Governor’s office did not return an e-mail Wednesday
UPDATE (4:57 P.M.):
Pritzker spokesman Jose Sanchez-Molina says employees will move to 555 W. Monroe from both the Thompson Center and leased spaces. He says the state is still on target to sell the Thompson Center by April 2022.
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“As part of our analysis, it became readily apparent that we’re spending an inordinate amount of money on leasing costs,” said former State Comptroller and Deputy Gov. Dan Hynes, Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s top fiscal adviser, told the Chicago Tribune. Hynes did not return a message from The Illinoize Wednesday.
When the state is able terminate or allow leases to lapse, they say the new building will pay for itself.
Currently, few state employees are actually working downtown. Most state offices are closed due to COVID-19, and employees are working from home. The Thompson Center is currently closed to the public.