Question of the day
Friday, Apr 5, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Press release…
Today, Gov. JB Pritzker took the following bill action:
Bill Number: SB 886
Description: Provides for the sale of the James R. Thompson Center by competitive sealed proposal process within two years. The purchaser must enter into an agreement with the City of Chicago and CTA to maintain operations of the Clark & Lake station.
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediately
The timeline of the JRTC sale is as follows:
Phase 1 (Present to Months 3-6) — The state will draft a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) to interested purchasers within the next four to six weeks and will re-engage negotiations with the City of Chicago regarding zoning and transit station within three to six months;
Phase 2 (Months 7-12) — The state will issue an RFQ and begin discussions with interested purchasers in four to six months’ time and draft and publish a Request for Proposal (RFP) to acquire and develop the property in four months’ time;
Phase 3 (Months 12-17) — The state will allow four to five months for interested purchasers to develop their proposals and respond to the RFP;
Phase 4 (Months 15-20) — The state will evaluate proposals, which includes discussions with proposers to clarify responses, within three months;
Phase 5 (Months 17-22) — The state will negotiate and award the contract within two months, which will conclude before the 24-month deadline.
Simultaneous with the sale of Thompson Center, the state will implement a planned relocation of current Thompson Center employees to the Michael A. Bilandic Building and other under-utilized, state-owned or rented facilities, consistent with recommendations made by the newly-created Pension Asset Value and Transfer Taskforce.
* The Question: Think it’ll happen? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please…
bike trails
…Adding… Lori Lightfoot on the sale of the Thompson Center back in February…
As a lover of Chicago’s architectural history, in general, my first instinct will always be to protect historical treasures. The Thompson Center has had a checkered history and there are valid concerns about maintenance. The fight between outgoing Governor Rauner and Mayor Emanuel should be in the rearview mirror. I would welcome dialogue with the Pritzker administration to devise a plan for the building’s future.
- 32nd Ward Roscoe Village - Friday, Apr 5, 19 @ 2:38 pm:
This is very valuable real estate–I would hope the state could make some money off of it.
- Anonymous - Friday, Apr 5, 19 @ 2:40 pm:
I think this will happen just because people want to spite Rauner
- The Captain - Friday, Apr 5, 19 @ 2:40 pm:
It’s happening
- Oswego Willy - Friday, Apr 5, 19 @ 2:42 pm:
Voted “Yes”…
I think GTCR will buy the property, unload everything there, then sell what’s left to a company that will make it into a water park.
- Fav Human - Friday, Apr 5, 19 @ 2:45 pm:
Why would it not?
- State Sen. Clay Davis - Friday, Apr 5, 19 @ 2:48 pm:
The architectural challenge of keeping the elevated and subway transit while developing something new will be pretty fun for whoever goes for this.
- OutOfState - Friday, Apr 5, 19 @ 2:48 pm:
Voted yes. I think the biggest two challenges will be:
1) Ensuring smooth transition for gov’t employees in the Thompson Center, which won’t stop a sale and
2) Having a clear plan in place for the CTA station, which hopefully won’t be too difficult considering the Thompson Center already segregates CTA traffic from the other business in the building.
- don the legend - Friday, Apr 5, 19 @ 2:52 pm:
Voted yes simply because Bruce “I’m not in charge” Rauner is not in charge anymore.
- A Jack - Friday, Apr 5, 19 @ 2:58 pm:
I think it will happen, but may need to be extended beyond 24 months. Especially for phase 3 because bidders may require more time to evaluate the cost / benefit of owning that building.
- Honeybear - Friday, Apr 5, 19 @ 2:58 pm:
Yes, I have to have faith that because this seems open and transparent
and planned
It will have a better chance
- City Guy - Friday, Apr 5, 19 @ 3:01 pm:
I voted yes. The property is one of the few parcels in the city with direct access to subways to O’Hare and Midway. Plus the location is great for both tourists and people on business.
In regards to the historic preservation and keeping the trains running, Helmut Jahn provided the answer. He proposed keeping most of the building intact and then building a supertall skyscraper on the Southwest corner.
- HCMcB4 - Friday, Apr 5, 19 @ 3:03 pm:
Yes, because there is money to be made.
- NIU Grad - Friday, Apr 5, 19 @ 3:04 pm:
It seemed to me that the GA was blocking this under Rauner to keep him from getting a win and Emmanuel was blocking things on the city’s end to try and get a bigger say in what kind of building would replace it. With both of those obstacles going away, the hardest thing will be procuring the needed funds to get all of the state agencies into other offices (which won’t be cheap).
- Stuntman Bob's Brother - Friday, Apr 5, 19 @ 3:04 pm:
Voted Yes because it’s in a prime location, but like with any other real estate deal, it’s all about the dollars. I’m sure they’ll get a lot of lowball offers on it, but whether anyone ponies up for what the state thinks its worth, is a bit of an unknown. Since prospective buyers have already had a few years to consider it, I would think the queue is already in place. It would seem to me that repurposing it would make more sense than tearing it down and starting over.
- Klaus VonBulow - Friday, Apr 5, 19 @ 3:04 pm:
I voted yes because building a new high rise will be an excellent opportunity for the State.
I do have concerns with who could be be over seeing the sale at CMS. CMS has not made any changes within their property management department or procurement. I hope this will be carefully monitored and transparent.
- NoGifts - Friday, Apr 5, 19 @ 3:07 pm:
What were the claims the City was making, and will Lori make the same demands?
- Six Degrees of Separation - Friday, Apr 5, 19 @ 3:09 pm:
There goes the food court. Bummer.
I think it will happen because it’s a valuable piece of real estate and the monetary value of the problems with vacating the building and maintaining station access are far outweighed by the potential development value.
- 47th Ward - Friday, Apr 5, 19 @ 3:09 pm:
I voted Yes, but I don’t think I’ll live long enough to see the current structure torn-down and replaced. I think a buyer will take it on, invest some money cleaning it up, and rent most of it back to the state. The state will get some upfront cash, but will end up paying a lot more in the long run.
That’s how we roll in Illinois.
- Louis G. Atsaves - Friday, Apr 5, 19 @ 3:15 pm:
No Democrats are currently blocking the sale from the legislative side or the 4th Floor of City Hall. Getting rid of that building should have occurred 3-4 years ago.
So I voted “yes.”
- The Dude - Friday, Apr 5, 19 @ 3:20 pm:
224 votes and exactly 50/50.
Nobody knows
- JS Mill - Friday, Apr 5, 19 @ 3:24 pm:
Voted yes. We seem to have a governor interested in being governor and one who is also competent back in charge.
- Nick Name - Friday, Apr 5, 19 @ 3:27 pm:
Is the bill number in the press release wrong or am I reading it wrong? The GA webpage lists SB 886 as a shell bill that has not yet had its third reading in the Senate.
http://tinyurl.com/y6ppm6hc
- Merica - Friday, Apr 5, 19 @ 3:28 pm:
Yes this is prime real estate, yes it is well located and valuable. But…. This is an enormous project. Our economy is showing recession signs and investors are aware of this. Chicago doesn’t see the same new construction investment as other cities. Remember Block 37?????
From a taxpayer perspective, this is a terrible deal. Yes the State is a bad building owner, but the State is also a bad tenant. Taxpayers will be paying higher than market value rent in perpetuity.
- Rich Miller - Friday, Apr 5, 19 @ 3:29 pm:
Nick, it’s from last year.
- Last Bull Moose - Friday, Apr 5, 19 @ 3:30 pm:
I voted yes. JB and LL both want this to happen.
Question. I have been told that as state property the City of Chicago has no taxing, police or zoning authority over the Thompson Center. Could the State keep this autonomy by leasing the site for 99 years? It would cost the City revenue, it make the site more valuable.
- Slugger O'Toole - Friday, Apr 5, 19 @ 3:31 pm:
==There goes the food court. Bummer.==
Heh. It is a good food court.
- Anonymous - Friday, Apr 5, 19 @ 3:32 pm:
No, they need to book the revenue from the sale of the building for at least 3 or 4 more budget cycles.
- Nick Name - Friday, Apr 5, 19 @ 3:38 pm:
===Nick, it’s from last year.===
Ah, thanks.
- Joe Bidenopolous - Friday, Apr 5, 19 @ 3:40 pm:
I think if there is anything that Rauner wanted that also makes sense to Democrats but didn’t happen during Rauner’s term, there is going to be a strong desire to get it done to spite Rauner, which is a sentiment I fully support. And that goes for things beyond JRTC, though I’m not sure how many of those things there are.
- Practical Politics - Friday, Apr 5, 19 @ 3:42 pm:
I was there two weeks ago. The granite slabs in the Thompson Center plaza are breaking in half and covered with orange cones.
It’s a valuable property in the hands of private developers. Sell it to someone ready to demolish the monstrosity and put up something worthwhile like a hotel or office building.
- RNUG - Friday, Apr 5, 19 @ 3:45 pm:
== Ensuring smooth transition for gov’t employees in the Thompson Center ==
I looked at a couple of sites over 20 years ago to move some operations. It is doable with the proper planning.
- NIU Grad - Friday, Apr 5, 19 @ 3:51 pm:
Interestingly, not many of the agencies that are there have that many staff. Outside of the constitutional officers, few of the state agencies within the building consist of significant numbers more than just their executive leadership. There are exceptions, like IDFPR, IDHR, DCEO, IHRC, and Revenue, but many of the other agencies read the writing on the wall and got out.
However, I do hope they take care to keep the agencies relatively close to each other…especially those with front-line staff that interact with the public. The nightmare scenario is having members of the public having to hustle around the downtown to accomplish basic services that require multi-agency interaction.
- Just Me 2 - Friday, Apr 5, 19 @ 4:00 pm:
Yes. It’s a prime piece of real estate with a built-in CTA station. It’s a developers dream. There will be fierce competition to get it. For that matter all government offices (other than actual City Hall) in the downtown area should be relocated to where rents are cheaper.
- Gooner - Friday, Apr 5, 19 @ 4:04 pm:
My concern is the potential use of the building. It seems like the economy is softening right now, and even with a strong economy, it seems that the Loop market may be saturated both for office and residential.
Still, although it will take work to find a buyer, I think it will happen, although it might push that two year limit.
- Fast Eddie - Friday, Apr 5, 19 @ 4:10 pm:
@Just Me
Are you going to redirect CTA lines so government offices are still accessible?
- Been There - Friday, Apr 5, 19 @ 5:01 pm:
Finally it will become The Scott Kennedy Water Park. And of course an attached Hyatt Hotel.
- Just Me 2 - Friday, Apr 5, 19 @ 9:02 pm:
Fast Eddie - I’m not sure I understand your question, but the CTA lines at JRTC are currently above and below the street, they do not actually go through the JRTC property.
Rents in River North, West Loop, and South Loop are about half of what they are in the loop, and still pretty accessible by transit. The State needs to reduce costs, and this is low-hanging fruit.
Both the Chicago Park District and Chicago Public Schools have moved their offices out of the loop, the State can do the same.