Off the wall observation: "Department of Central Management Services announcing their selection for Preferred Proposer to their RFP" sounds like something out of a dystopian novel. Or a Monty Python Sketch. Which is a bit like a dystopian novel, but funny. Or sometimes funny/not funny.
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For the record, I work in the world of government proposals so I'm jaded when it comes to government agency names and jargon. Which... I couldn't find anything stating that they've extended the timeframe for the decision. But that very well could be only communicated to those they shortlisted through the initial pre-qualification round.
What a fitting building for a dystopian government agency.
Honestly, screw the supertall. Even within the loop, there's still room for more supertalls or even just talls. I'd love to see a minimally invasive proposal to just seal up the building a bit more and turn it into hotels, apts, and even some those stupid vertical gardens people keep proposing. If they can air condition the Cowboys' Stadium, they can heat and cool the Thompson Center.
Honestly, screw the supertall. Even within the loop, there's still room for more supertalls or even just talls. I'd love to see a minimally invasive proposal to just seal up the building a bit more and turn it into hotels, apts, and even some those stupid vertical gardens people keep proposing. If they can air condition the Cowboys' Stadium, they can heat and cool the Thompson Center.
Yikes... 900 United Airlines employees are relocating from the Willis Tower to Arlington Heights...
Bloomberg: United Airlines Moves Operations Staff to Suburb in Blow to Chicago
Bloomberg: United Airlines Moves Operations Staff to Suburb in Blow to Chicago
I'd rather just see it gone. The Thompson building is ugly. scales poorly to the area and the setback on the 3 sides suck.aprice wrote: ↑Dec 06, 2021What a fitting building for a dystopian government agency.
Honestly, screw the supertall. Even within the loop, there's still room for more supertalls or even just talls. I'd love to see a minimally invasive proposal to just seal up the building a bit more and turn it into hotels, apts, and even some those stupid vertical gardens people keep proposing. If they can air condition the Cowboys' Stadium, they can heat and cool the Thompson Center.
People working the top 3-4 floors of TC are always burning up while the lower floors are really cold. Doesn't matter what season it is. Helmut's design is great, but the building isn't functional at all. Too bad it has to go.
Could be worse. Surprised their wasn't anyone headed to Texas. They are also putting money into keeping HQ downtown.stlgasm wrote: ↑Dec 06, 2021Yikes... 900 United Airlines employees are relocating from the Willis Tower to Arlington Heights...
Bloomberg: United Airlines Moves Operations Staff to Suburb in Blow to Chicago
I know someone that worked there for like 6 months and quit partly because the building was a miserable place to work. Noise, smells, water leaks, 25+ year old carpet just some of what she mentioned.STLinCHI wrote: ↑Dec 06, 2021People working the top 3-4 floors of TC are always burning up while the lower floors are really cold. Doesn't matter what season it is. Helmut's design is great, but the building isn't functional at all. Too bad it has to go.
My thoughts too. I believe 2,400 are still staying put downtown.dredger wrote: ↑Dec 06, 2021Could be worse. Surprised their wasn't anyone headed to Texas. They are also putting money into keeping HQ downtown.stlgasm wrote: ↑Dec 06, 2021Yikes... 900 United Airlines employees are relocating from the Willis Tower to Arlington Heights...
Bloomberg: United Airlines Moves Operations Staff to Suburb in Blow to Chicago
Interesting though how the article talks about the union contract says "x" number of employees must be in the Sears Tower.sc4mayor wrote: ↑Dec 06, 2021My thoughts too. I believe 2,400 are still staying put downtown.dredger wrote: ↑Dec 06, 2021Could be worse. Surprised their wasn't anyone headed to Texas. They are also putting money into keeping HQ downtown.stlgasm wrote: ↑Dec 06, 2021Yikes... 900 United Airlines employees are relocating from the Willis Tower to Arlington Heights...
Bloomberg: United Airlines Moves Operations Staff to Suburb in Blow to Chicago
(And no, I'm not calling it the Willis Tower)
I suppose. They’re putting millions into Willis so it doesn’t exactly seem like a ploy to leave anytime soon.
Kind makes some sense to me that they’d have their primary operations center closer to O’Hare anyway. Especially after the recent power failure and flood.
Kind makes some sense to me that they’d have their primary operations center closer to O’Hare anyway. Especially after the recent power failure and flood.
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^I can't imagine any of the real operations stuff is at Sears. I expect it's the financial, marketing, and executive stuff. The crew and aircraft related departments would pretty much have to be at the airport anyway: operations, crew bases, maintenance, scheduling, and so forth. Probably the training functions too. And quite possibly even more mundane things like HR, given the fact that they'll have more people going out there than the corporate offices. But for the marketing and financial stuff it would make more sense to be convenient to the firms you'll need to work with, which are doubtless still more downtown than in the burbs. IT and reservations are probably off in a bunker at some poorly marked windowless third location anyway. Might be they were previously in the Loop, but there's no real reason to put them on the 'spensive property. They're probably all happier in t-shirts and blue jeans anyway.
^ I believe the relocating jobs are largely related to IT, reservations, scheduling, etc.
Obviously crew and aircraft related things are at the airport and have been.
Obviously crew and aircraft related things are at the airport and have been.
Here is the LJC's proposal for the Thompson Center...
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https://theljc.com/projects/james-r-thompson-centerConnecting people to community resources and destinations through transit infrastructure becoming the central welcome to the city.
Facing the threat of demolition, the James R. Thompson Center competition sought solutions to save the iconic Chicago landmark.
LJC’s concept imagines the building as the Gateway for two primary audiences, Chicago residents and tourists. Connecting people through a re-imagined CTA station, Terminal Pavilion, and an express train line to O’Hare and Midway – the Thompson Center becomes positioned as the central welcome to the city.
Opening the ground floor reveals an open-air market and new pavilion that houses a year-round public plaza, subterranean access to the terminal level, and a public pedway system. The community program is connected by new year-round green space bridges that provide internal and external views. Each bridge bands community programs together on shared floors. The new high-performance enclosure system minimizes the atrium, provides comfort and transparency for users, and reduces the overall load on the MEP systems, decreasing operation costs.
The exterior plaza level opens to the new transit pavilion, spilling down into a terminal arcade that acts as a transit hub for commuters. A new platform level can be seen below, making a clear and intuitive connection between users.
The pavilion recognizes Helmut Jahn’s original intent of a layered subterranean experience connecting Chicago’s transit and pedway. The new design opens the existing arrival and departure level to create three distinct experiences: Plaza Entry Level, Terminal Level, and Arrival and Departure Level. The terminal pavilion honors and enhances Jahn’s layering of space, allowing locals and visitors to cross paths.
Its direct access to six train lines, buses, and divvy stations makes it the perfect location for programs that can support Chicago’s diverse communities. Pairing public programs with retail, services, transit, and leasable area creates a balanced ecosystem that brings locals and visitors together in one communal place.
You will likely see this type of air mobility and drone infrastructure popping up in the next few years. The design might be rather forward-thinking - that said how dystopian everyone is wearing masks now on the streets due to a virus named omicron and eventually omega and drones flying in and out of the roofs of high-rises in the Loop; when will we see the Tyrell or Wallace Corporations begin making lines of Nexus replicates?
Tractor giant John Deere opening office in Fulton Market, hiring up to 300 tech workers
https://www.chicagotribune.com/business ... story.html
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https://www.chicagotribune.com/business ... story.html
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Thompson Center sold and the current structure will be saved / upgraded: https://www.chicagobusiness.com/governm ... rime-group
The state has reached a deal to sell the Thompson Center for $70 million, Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced today, and the buyers plan to preserve the building.
Pritzker announced that the state has entered into exclusive negotiations with the Prime Group to sell the building, a move that the governor said would save taxpayers $800 million.
"After reviewing two final bids, our team has entered into exclusive negotiations" with the team that would also "honor the original design of the building."
The new majority owners will pay $70 million upfront and intend to develop a "state-of-the-art mixed use building" with executive offices, retail, and hotel space. "The design is truly stunning," Pritzker said.
Laife Fulk wrote: ↑Dec 15, 2021Thompson Center sold and the current structure will be saved / upgraded: https://www.chicagobusiness.com/governm ... prime-grou
Not everything needs to be saved. Like pretty much anything brutalist, the Thompson Center should be wiped from history and never spoken of ever again.
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Why not? Sears is just a different brand, named after a different rich white guy. Other than being older it's qualitatively the same.dweebe wrote: ↑Dec 06, 2021Interesting though how the article talks about the union contract says "x" number of employees must be in the Sears Tower.
(And no, I'm not calling it the Willis Tower)
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^The same could be said for Wrigley and Busch. I doubt anyone will ever call either anything else.
This story has renderings of Prime Group's redevelopment of the Thompson Center. Looks like they retained JAHN architecture as the architect.
https://www.chicagobusiness.com/governm ... rime-group
https://www.chicagobusiness.com/governm ... rime-group
Nice! I wish the city of STL can do businesses like this one with the Rx, ATT, Millennium Hotel, and Jefferson Arms, and whatever is empty.chriss752 wrote:This story has renderings of Prime Group's redevelopment of the Thompson Center. Looks like they retained JAHN architecture as the architect.
https://www.chicagobusiness.com/governm ... rime-group
I talked about how Detroit’s renaissance is just amazing at another post. If they brought their downtown from a WW3 look so can we! But government needs to be more proactive and risk takers.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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I still call wherever the Blues play The Checkerdome. But that's not me being traditional or sentimental, my brain just no work no good.symphonicpoet wrote: ↑Dec 15, 2021^The same could be said for Wrigley and Busch. I doubt anyone will ever call either anything else.
Anyway sorry for the sidebar.