flexiblefullpage
billboard
interstitial1
catfish1
Currently Reading

Sterling Bay proposes SOM-designed office tower near Chicago’s newly opened Transit Center at Union Station

Office Buildings

Sterling Bay proposes SOM-designed office tower near Chicago’s newly opened Transit Center at Union Station

The building is one of several projects that are filling this developer’s plate in this city.


By John Caulfield, Senior Editor | September 20, 2016

Sterling Bay's proposal for a 958-foot-tall office tower is among an array of development and redevelopment projects it has in the works in Chicago. Image: SOM via skyscraperpage.com

The very active developer Sterling Bay has proposed a 958-foot-tall, 2-million-sf office tower that would be connected to Union Station in Chicago’s West Loop, on real estate owned by Amtrak. The office tower would be one of the tallest in the city.

Crain’s Chicago Business reports that Sterling Bay is already in talks with large tenants for this tower, designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. Sterling Bay, though, has not yet been chosen as Union Station’s master developer. 

Amtrak, Crain’s reports, has been trying to redevelop its 1.3-million-sf Union Station property for years. Last October, it announced plans to upgrade the existing building, and to seek developer partners to add 3 million sf of new structures over and around tracks and land it owns.

Sterling Bay has gained a reputation for redeveloping existing buildings, such as the conversion of the Fulton Market Cold Storage building, known as 1KFulton, to Google’s Midwest headquarters.

Its proposal for the addition to Union Station is one of several projects it has in the works, including two residential towers in Chicago, and a ground-up development for McDonald’s, which is moving its headquarters to the Fulton Market District from Oak Brook, Ill. That deal, says Crain’s, includes plans for a 200-room extended stay hotel just west of those headquarters.

The firm’s redevelopment of the recently acquired Coyne College campus has expanded to 1 million square feet of new office space—up from 400,000 square feet. And Sterling Bay is interested in purchasing the 18-acre Chicago Department of Fleet and Facility’s Management property, which the city has put up for sale. 

The SOM-designed tower would, in all likelihood, replace a parking garage located south of Union Station’s new $41 million Transit Center, which opened on Sept. 11.

Curbed Chicago points out that the design of this tower looks a lot like an unbuilt 40-story proposal for 625 W. Monroe from SMDP Studio in 2013, which eventually evolved into a redesigned 75-story proposal the next year, but has yet to be constructed.

Related Stories

| Nov 18, 2011

Centre for Interactive Research on Sustainability opens

Designed to exceed LEED Platinum, the Centre for Interactive Research on Sustainability (CIRS) is one of the most innovative and high performance buildings in North America today, demonstrating leading-edge green building design products, technologies, and systems.

| Nov 17, 2011

Hollister Construction Services renovating bank in Union City, N.J.

Project is part of a series of ground-up construction and renovation assignments.

| Nov 16, 2011

Project completion of BRAC 132, Office of the Chief Army Reserve Building, Ft. Belvoir, Va.

This fast-tracked, design-build project consists of a three-story, 88,470 sf administrative command building housing approximately 430 employees.

| Nov 15, 2011

Struggling economy demands construction industry embrace enterprise-wide risk management

In today’s business environment of high supply and limited demand, it has become especially vital for organizations in the construction sector to effectively manage risk.

| Nov 15, 2011

Miller joins Perkins Eastman as regional manager, Middle East and Northern Africa

Miller joins Perkins Eastman with more than 48 years of experience in architecture, design management, and construction administration for planning and infrastructure.

| Nov 14, 2011

VanSumeren appointed to Traco general manager

VanSumeren will draw on his more than 20 years of experience in manufacturing management and engineering to deliver operational and service excellence and drive profitable growth for Traco. 

| Nov 11, 2011

By the Numbers

What do ‘46.9,’ ‘886.2,’ and ‘171,271’ mean to you? Check here for the answer.

| Nov 11, 2011

AIA: Engineered Brick + Masonry for Commercial Buildings

Earn 1.0 AIA/CES learning units by studying this article and successfully completing the online exam. 

| Nov 11, 2011

How Your Firm Can Win Federal + Military Projects

The civilian and military branches of the federal government are looking for innovative, smart-thinking AEC firms to design and construct their capital projects. Our sources give you the inside story.

| Nov 10, 2011

Thornton Tomasetti’s Joseph and Choi to co-chair the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat’s Outrigger Design Working Group

Design guide will describe in detail the application of outriggers within the lateral load resisting systems of tall buildings, effects on building behavior and recommendations for design. 

boombox1
boombox2
native1

More In Category



Sustainable Design and Construction

Northglenn, a Denver suburb, opens a net zero, all-electric city hall with a mass timber structure

Northglenn, Colo., a Denver suburb, has opened the new Northglenn City Hall—a net zero, fully electric building with a mass timber structure. The 32,600-sf, $33.7 million building houses 60 city staffers. Designed by Anderson Mason Dale Architects, Northglenn City Hall is set to become the first municipal building in Colorado, and one of the first in the country, to achieve the Core certification: a green building rating system overseen by the International Living Future Institute.


MFPRO+ News

San Francisco unveils guidelines to streamline office-to-residential conversions

The San Francisco Department of Building Inspection announced a series of new building code guidelines clarifying adaptive reuse code provisions and exceptions for converting office-to-residential buildings. Developed in response to the Commercial to Residential Adaptive Reuse program established in July 2023, the guidelines aim to increase the viability of converting underutilized office buildings into housing by reducing regulatory barriers in specific zoning districts downtown. 

halfpage1

Most Popular Content

  1. 2021 Giants 400 Report
  2. Top 150 Architecture Firms for 2019
  3. 13 projects that represent the future of affordable housing
  4. Sagrada Familia completion date pushed back due to coronavirus
  5. Top 160 Architecture Firms 2021