Google is reportedly negotiating to purchase the state-owned James R. Thompson Center in downtown Chicago. If true, such a deal could spark a turnaround for the struggling LaSalle Street corridor, where many longtime businesses have recently departed, leaving behind huge vacancies.
The state talked for years about selling the 1.2-million-square-foot office center and seemed to reach that goal when Chicago developer Michael Reschke agreed to buy it in March for $70 million. Reschke said he planned to spend nearly $300 million to renovate the Helmut Jahn-designed center, best known for its futuristic exterior and vast atrium, possibly into a luxury hotel, and add modern office and retail space.
But Google entered the picture with its own offer to buy the Thompson Center, according to a report in CoStar News, although how much the company would pay and how it would impact Reschke’s plan is not clear. Reschke dismissed the report.
