Should the Government Save These Historic Chicago Offices?

Not everyone is on board with the federal government’s plans to preserve two vacant towers it owns in the Loop.

The 16-story Century and 22-story Consumer buildings, at 202 and 220 South State Street, are at the center of a debate between preservationists and developers who disagree on the best way forward, the Chicago Sun Times reported.

Quintin Primo III of Capri Investment Group submitted a proposal to repurpose the century-old buildings for nonprofit and religious archival storage. Primo believes the buildings, which are in the Loop Retail Historic District, can serve a critical function while maintaining their historic integrity.

“We believe there is significant demand for that type of storage,” Primo said, noting that his development firm is “keenly interested in the resuscitation of that portion of State Street.”

John Murphy of Murphy Development Group sees no viable future for the structures, saying they are too far gone for rehabilitation.

“They’re derelict,” Murphy said. “The government should tear them down and leave an open plaza on State Street.”

Murphy is working with InSite Real Estate on plans for an ambitious tear down at 311 South Wacker Drive. They are under contract to purchase the 65-story tower for $70 million, equating to $53 per square foot, and would partner with Houston-based developer Hines to replace the tower with multiple high-rises spanning over 4 million square feet.

For the Century and Consumer buildings, security concerns surrounding the neighboring Dirksen Federal Building complicate redevelopment efforts. The General Services Administration has ruled out residential or hotel use and is only considering projects that ensure strict security measures. Those restrictions have deterred some developers from submitting proposals.

Preservationists contend that demolishing the buildings would negatively affect the historic Loop Retail District. The Chicago Loop Alliance has voiced concerns that replacing them with open space would reduce pedestrian traffic and hurt local businesses.

The GSA is expected to review the proposals and issue a request for lease proposals this summer and finalize a deal in the fall.

Primo has experience in large-scale redevelopment projects. He and developer Michael Reschke are behind the Thompson Center redevelopment, which is earmarked as Google’s future Midwest headquarters.

The two Chicago developers also plan to transform the former Cboe Global Markets headquarters into a data center. They acquired the 385,000-square-foot property, at 400 South LaSalle Street, for just over $12 million, or $31 per square foot, last year.

— Andrew Terrell