CHICAGO | Post Office Redevelopment

[HomrQT]

Originally Posted by tjp

anyone know if they plan on making a connection to the Clinton blue line stop?

That would be a brilliant move if they did. Works for the Merchandise Mart.

[ChickeNES]

Originally Posted by tjp

anyone know if they plan on making a connection to the Clinton blue line stop?

In the PD document there's a mention that part of the connection would be built, but the CTA would be responsible for actually connecting it to the existing station. Who knows why they didn't get them to pledge to build the whole thing.

[Ned.B]

Originally Posted by ardecila

If Post Office team was going with a replacement plan instead of refurbishment, I doubt you'd see those thicker mullions around the operable ventilators, or operable ventilators at all... it would just be three big fixed windows mulled together, with simulated divided lite. This would give you 95% of the historic appearance, for 50% of the cost of a true steel replacement.

I have actually seen aluminum replacement windows replicate the thicker muntins for the operable sashes before, so it is possible. From this far away it's hard to tell exactly what they did. With the protective covenants placed on the building they were probably held to maintaining the historic window appearance whether they were replaced or restored.

[the urban politician]

The developers of this bad boy must be going mad aggressive in their marketing efforts, because this is a lot of space. My guess is that they will get another suburban HQ in here.

But I would love if they got a company to move here from outside of Chicagoland

[BuildThemTaller]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

The developers of this bad boy must be going mad aggressive in their marketing efforts, because this is a lot of space. My guess is that they will get another suburban HQ in here.

But I would love if they got a company to move here from outside of Chicagoland

Or even better, for a young, local company to "graduate" into this space. The overwhelming majority of new hires in this economy are from local companies. The site selection enterprise gets a lot of press relative to their contribution to the local economy. For every McDonald's relocation, there's far more Groupons and Coyote Logistics that don't get nearly the attention they deserve. I think another business incubator, perhaps focused on transportation or construction would be a great addition to the space to help supply a steady stream of potential new office occupants in the Post Office.

[r18tdi]

Saw that another renovation permit was recently issued. This time for the outlying "compressor building." So is that the old building that powered the compressed air mail tubes?

[moorhosj]

Originally Posted by BuildThemTaller

Or even better, for a young, local company to "graduate" into this space. The overwhelming majority of new hires in this economy are from local companies. The site selection enterprise gets a lot of press relative to their contribution to the local economy. For every McDonald's relocation, there's far more Groupons and Coyote Logistics that don't get nearly the attention they deserve. I think another business incubator, perhaps focused on transportation or construction would be a great addition to the space to help supply a steady stream of potential new office occupants in the Post Office.

^THIS! All of the suburbs vs city argument is a waste of energy. The real companies we should be focused on are Outcome Health, Uptake, SpotHero, GrubHub, SMS Assist, and their ilk. These companies represents employment that adds to the metro instead of just shuffling from suburbs to city. That being said, I think you are likely to get more startup activity in the city compared to the suburbs.

[LouisVanDerWright]

Guys this is not a zero sum game. 1 job in the suburbs does not have the same value to metro Chicago as 1 job in the city. Period.

This is not how cities work, cities exist because they become more and more efficient the more dense they become. That is because you have more users sharing the costs of infrastructure and creating unique opportunities for exchange. You will not have the same growth as a company if you wallow out in the suburbs where your employees will likely never interact on any given day with someone from outside of the company. That is bad for the company. Interactions with many different people with different ideas, ways of doing things, opinions, etc is what drives innovation and creativity. It's why the first trading posts sprung up and then grew into Hamlet's, then towns then cities. It's literally the story of civilization and suburbanization runs totally contrary to it.


Additionally these employees, by cloistering inside of a corporate campus, never interact with other businesses and do not provide the economic multiplier effect that brings. So not only do corporations not benefit from being in the burbs, but the businesses around them do not benefit as much because the great distances do not lend themselves to trade. That's why suburbs have malls and cities have a fabric of retail streets.

Finally the employees themselves do not benefit. Think of the great variety of options living in a city brings. Literally anything you want is at your fingertips. Want a gastro pub boom, it's there, want a brewery boom it's there, have an extremely obscure hobby, boom there's a Warhammer 3000 shop just for you. The most interesting thing about this is that it all starts the cycle anew. The great variety of options available to urban consumers makes them more creative, it let's them pursue anything they want and to drill down to the deepest level of their interests. This further Stokes their creativity and that feeds right back into their work life further benefiting their employers who in turn grow and attract yet more residents. Before you know it you have great business districts like the Chicago Loop.

And guess what? All suburbs are an unnatural outgrowth of that business district that feed off the dynanism of that agglomeration. Reconsolidating these employers and employees is reinvigorating our economy and is a self perpetuating process that cannot be stopped at this point. These are not 1 for 1 gains for the city and losses for the suburbs. Every job that comes downtown makes Chicago metro healthier and has a multiplier effect on literally every aspect of our economy that simply does not occur in the burbs. Economists have studied this. Take a course in urban economics. This is not some rant or bizzare theory I made up. It is accepted, tested, fact.

[aaron38]

I don't see corporations clammoring to give 50% raises to their employees so that they can relocate. I have a family and I can't afford to move into the city. And I'm not squishing into a two bedroom.

I'll take the train first. Bedroom suburbs around the Metra stations aren't going away.

[the urban politician]

Only the most googly googly idealists among us (hanging out with other singles drinking fancy cocktails and pretending the world outside of the city doesn't exist--a fun world but not real) actually think bedroom suburbs will go away for good.

But a HQ relocation to the city makes sense for many corporations. Metra and the highways ensure that suburbanites will still get to a downtown job.

[BVictor1]

08/02/17

Originally Posted by spyguy

[Skyguy_7]

^Hooooly shit. That's gorgeous. Definitely did not expect them to be at this stage in the lobby so quickly.

[Rizzo]

IIRC, the lobby was always toward the initial end of renovations for what I assume to market the project to prospective tenants

[Kenmore]

whoa

[Via Chicago]

reminiscent of the merchandise mart lobby. A+. still hard to believe its happening but its becoming harder to doubt!

[pip]

This is a huge building, 2.5 million square feet. What are they hoping will occupy all this?

[Jim in Chicago]

Originally Posted by Skyguy_7

^Hooooly shit. That's gorgeous. Definitely did not expect them to be at this stage in the lobby so quickly.

Originally Posted by Kenmore

whoa

Originally Posted by Via Chicago

reminiscent of the merchandise mart lobby. A+. still hard to believe its happening but its becoming harder to doubt!

I knew the potential was there. So wonderful to see a developer who did the right thing.

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by pip

This is a huge building, 2.5 million square feet. What are they hoping will occupy all this?

Who knows - I'm guessing any type of business. That is a lot of space. My office is something like 125,000 sq ft and we have over 500 people working in that. Just imagine 2.25 million sq ft was similar to that - you'd have close to 10,000 people working there.


I think that if they can develop this thing the right way for the types of spaces business can use or at least renovate to (and not merely just "it looks great") then I think it would lure some companies either away from the suburbs or companies looking to move to a new city. It's right near the Clinton Blue Line stop and Union Station, not far of a walk from the LaSalle Street Metra stop, right near 2 major expressways, and the walk is doable from one of the Pink/Purple/Brown line stops. It's also walkable from parts of South Loop and Riverline development is going to be right there.

The transit coverage in that area is excellent. If they can do the marketing and get companies there, I don't think they'll have a problem filling it up within a handful of years.

[ardecila]

Originally Posted by Skyguy_7

^Hooooly shit. That's gorgeous. Definitely did not expect them to be at this stage in the lobby so quickly.

Remember the opening scene of Dark Knight? The lobby was already in good shape. Looks like they just cleaned the stone and gave it a fresh coat of paint. Also new lighting fixtures. Probably a smart move to get this space done so that prospective tenants actually have something to go see.

[Randomguy34]

They started painting the window frames on the 1st floor with silver paint, which really show the detailed structures in the frames. I can already imagine this building being in the CAF Open House a few years from now