Deerfield-based Walgreens recently announced that it will open its first downtown Chicago office, with 65 of its e-commerce department employees locating at the historic Sullivan Center, 1 S. State St.
“We are delighted that the company has made the decision to locate this group here,” Mayor Richard M. Daley said in a news conference held in the building, where the company has leased 20,000 square feet of office space.
Chicago is a leader in technology-driven business and a center for information intensive industries such as e-commerce. And, despite challenging economic circumstances, the city has seen many companies locate and expand over the last year.
This month “Site Selection” magazine ranked Chicago 2nd in the nation for corporate real estate investments. Chicago reported $1.5 billion of total investment, which includes new and expanded corporate facilities.
“We are pleased that the Chicago-area ranks second in the nation for direct investment,” said Rita Athas, president of World Business Chicago, the city’s economic development office. “Chicago’s success can be attributed to Mayor Daley and the business community’s tremendous efforts to assure that Chicago is a premier business destination. Even in tough economic times, we’ve identified 11.6 million square feet of economic development activity last year, which speaks to Chicago’s remarkable strengths as a location for business.”
“Walgreens decision to locate in the Sullivan Center is a building block for more jobs. Each decision like Walgreens — and like the ones made recently to locate downtown by United Airlines and Willis Holdings and Miller Coors — makes Chicago an even more attractive place for new employers,” Daley said.
The Sullivan Center complex consists of nine buildings built between 1898 and 1904 and previously occupied by the Carson Pirie Scott Department Store. It has been designated a National Historic Landmark and City of Chicago Landmark. It is now named after architect Louis Sullivan, who designed the 12-story building along the State Street side.
The City provided about $9.5 million in tax increment financing to restore Sullivan’s cast iron ornamentation on the outside of the building at State and Madison and to carry out other projects, including rehabilitating the City landmark Haskell, Barker and Atwater buildings on the Wabash Avenue side of the Sullivan Center, achieving LEED certification for the Sullivan Center and adding a new Energy Star roof coating system to the building.
In the press conference, Daley noted that historic preservation is an integral part of the city’s planning and economic development activities. “This building is a perfect example of how the public and private sectors can work together to complete a project that creates jobs for our residents and brings back to life a landmark building,” Daley said.
The office space in the Sullivan Center is now 80 percent leased, adding vitality and economic activity to the downtown area.
