[ChiPhi]

^^^ I could only find a Crain's article behind the paywall that I am too cheap to circumvent, but Google is looking for up to 350,000 sq ft of Class A office space, if I'm not mistaken. That was nearly a year ago though, so who knows if they are still looking or have given up. IMO, it seems like a good choice to open a bigger office here. Few of the massive tech firms really have a major impact on Chicago's business scene, despite the fact that we have tons of college students to be poached and two major research universities. Obviously, Northwestern and U Chicago Comp Sci can't compete with Carnegie Mellon, Cal Tech, MIT or Stanford, but they are certainly not shabby departments and the students looking for work are easier to poach when a hometown office offers a job (or an internship). Many firms (both tech and non-tech) adopt a policy of internships as recruitment, and it is easier and cheaper to get qualified kids coming once or twice a week during the school year than to find housing etc. during the summer.

With two major firms, maybe we will see two major starts soon... I imagine Google would go for this or Hines' development across the river over one of the 20-some story buildings in the West Loop (or even that one on the former BOT spot in the loop); both the Hines projects would earn Google the attention that they thrive on. Moreover, this building looks very Google - sleek, modern and cool.