# Chicago | James R. Thompson Center | 308 FT | 17 FLOORS **URL:** \ **Category:** Chicago\ **Created:** [September 25, 2020, 8:54pm UTC](https://forum.newyorkyimby.com/t/chicago-james-r-thompson-center-308-ft-17-floors/17413 "2020-09-25T20:54:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mackensen](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/forum.newyorkyimby.com/mackensen/32/138218_2.png) [@Mackensen](https://forum.newyorkyimby.com/u/Mackensen)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2020, 8:54pm UTC](https://forum.newyorkyimby.com/t/chicago-james-r-thompson-center-308-ft-17-floors/17413/1 "2020-09-25T20:54:25Z")
![](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/uploads/yimby/original/3X/1/7/17084583b71a9d83fe9d3f6be4a9cc833a13df3a.jpeg) Rendering by Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill A jaw-dropping rendering of a new 1,700-foot mixed-use supertall was presented by state Republicans and Governor Bruce Rauner as part of a renewed effort to get Illinois’ divided lawmakers behind a plan to sell-off Chicago’s state-owned Thompson Center. According to Crain’s , the 115-story conceptual design comes from Chicago’s Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill and would easily surpass the Windy City’s current tallest building—the 1,450-foot Willis (Sears) Tower—if ever realized. > **[State sale of Thompson Center could clear path for new supertall skyscraper](https://chicago.curbed.com/2017/1/19/14329252/chicago-thompson-center-supertall-skyscraper-redevelopment)** > > A 115-story design is being floated by lawmakers to help encourage the sale of the expensive, run-down building. > **[New Images Released of Proposed Skyscraper Addition to Chicago's Thompson Center](https://www.archdaily.com/893833/new-images-released-of-proposed-skyscraper-addition-to-chicagos-thompson-center)** > > Landmarks Illinois has released new images of a proposed radical skyscraper extension to the James R, Thompson Center in Chicago. ---
**Author:** ![Matthew\_Vansickle](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/forum.newyorkyimby.com/matthew_vansickle/32/182452_2.png) [@Matthew\_Vansickle](https://forum.newyorkyimby.com/u/Matthew_Vansickle)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2020, 12:08am UTC](https://forum.newyorkyimby.com/t/chicago-james-r-thompson-center-308-ft-17-floors/17413/2 "2020-09-26T00:08:07Z")
Now that’s really nice ---
**Author:** ![Sky88](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/forum.newyorkyimby.com/sky88/32/57640_2.png) [@Sky88](https://forum.newyorkyimby.com/u/Sky88)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2020, 5:47pm UTC](https://forum.newyorkyimby.com/t/chicago-james-r-thompson-center-308-ft-17-floors/17413/3 "2020-09-26T17:47:05Z")
Old news and pictures. ---
**Author:** ![Skyy](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/forum.newyorkyimby.com/skyy/32/30574_2.png) [@Skyy](https://forum.newyorkyimby.com/u/Skyy)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2020, 6:35am UTC](https://forum.newyorkyimby.com/t/chicago-james-r-thompson-center-308-ft-17-floors/17413/4 "2020-09-30T06:35:06Z")
👏👏 Great to hear ---
**Author:** ![Skyy](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/forum.newyorkyimby.com/skyy/32/30574_2.png) [@Skyy](https://forum.newyorkyimby.com/u/Skyy)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2020, 6:36am UTC](https://forum.newyorkyimby.com/t/chicago-james-r-thompson-center-308-ft-17-floors/17413/5 "2020-09-30T06:36:36Z")
Will be interesting to see what/if anything happens with this one ---
**Author:** ![rgarri4](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/forum.newyorkyimby.com/rgarri4/32/57140_2.png) [@rgarri4](https://forum.newyorkyimby.com/u/rgarri4)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2020, 4:34pm UTC](https://forum.newyorkyimby.com/t/chicago-james-r-thompson-center-308-ft-17-floors/17413/6 "2020-09-30T16:34:23Z")
I really hope something tall happens here. It’s too good a location. [![](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/uploads/yimby/original/3X/f/2/f29f03d2e6f24c43b98b23c041ef5d0fb2ceb3ea.jpeg "The Thompson Center Redevelopment In 3D") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QMk-b9ztDk) ---
**Author:** ![Mackensen](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/forum.newyorkyimby.com/mackensen/32/138218_2.png) [@Mackensen](https://forum.newyorkyimby.com/u/Mackensen)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2020, 5:06pm UTC](https://forum.newyorkyimby.com/t/chicago-james-r-thompson-center-308-ft-17-floors/17413/7 "2020-10-22T17:06:17Z")
![](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/uploads/yimby/original/3X/a/6/a679ce0a91e5f530638fed843c33f92d9f7bbadf.jpeg) Wabash Skytower Chicago proposal Skyscraper Rendering by Lewis Garrison > **[Wabash Skytower Chicago | Lewis Garrison](https://www.cgarchitect.com/images/fd8298b8)** > > VIZfire - http://vizfire.net Wabash Skytower Chicago proposal Have you @rgarri4 more Pics from this Skyscraper Idea? ---
**Author:** ![bmosborne](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/forum.newyorkyimby.com/bmosborne/32/78906_2.png) [@bmosborne](https://forum.newyorkyimby.com/u/bmosborne)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2020, 4:55pm UTC](https://forum.newyorkyimby.com/t/chicago-james-r-thompson-center-308-ft-17-floors/17413/8 "2020-10-23T16:55:41Z")
I just edited these! ![image](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/uploads/yimby/original/3X/e/0/e073c403270b243f2bb95989a9f6105c605e3cb2.jpeg) ![image](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/uploads/yimby/original/3X/9/b/9b340578f180809f29af9dcbbb07413b729a38a5.jpeg) ![image](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/uploads/yimby/original/3X/6/c/6cfb1906775df1c2ab494e95fb6614707c77235c.jpeg) ![image](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/uploads/yimby/original/3X/a/b/ab682bdb9dd16cb769c56a771adc52b6371c598e.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![bmosborne](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/forum.newyorkyimby.com/bmosborne/32/78906_2.png) [@bmosborne](https://forum.newyorkyimby.com/u/bmosborne)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2020, 4:56pm UTC](https://forum.newyorkyimby.com/t/chicago-james-r-thompson-center-308-ft-17-floors/17413/9 "2020-10-23T16:56:36Z")
If Chicago could build this building in this spot as a mega tall, it would reclaim its title of the world’s greatest skyline! ---
**Author:** ![GSPLover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8c91f0/32.png) [@GSPLover](https://forum.newyorkyimby.com/u/GSPLover)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2020, 5:26pm UTC](https://forum.newyorkyimby.com/t/chicago-james-r-thompson-center-308-ft-17-floors/17413/10 "2020-10-23T17:26:53Z")
Chicago never had the world’s greatest skyline! ---
**Author:** ![bmosborne](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/forum.newyorkyimby.com/bmosborne/32/78906_2.png) [@bmosborne](https://forum.newyorkyimby.com/u/bmosborne)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2020, 8:02pm UTC](https://forum.newyorkyimby.com/t/chicago-james-r-thompson-center-308-ft-17-floors/17413/11 "2020-10-23T20:02:55Z")
And what city has? ---
**Author:** ![MarshallKnight](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/forum.newyorkyimby.com/marshallknight/32/40545_2.png) [@MarshallKnight](https://forum.newyorkyimby.com/u/MarshallKnight)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2020, 8:17pm UTC](https://forum.newyorkyimby.com/t/chicago-james-r-thompson-center-308-ft-17-floors/17413/12 "2020-10-23T20:17:52Z")
Lol, you’re on a forum founded as an offshoot of New York YIMBY, so take a guess what city they might be referencing. I actually think that Chicago had a very strong case for having the best skyline in the world between 9/11 and the construction of the new World Trade Center. And Chicago still may be more compositionally beautiful, but in the last 10 years, NYC has become pretty awe-inspiring, in a class all its own (IMHO). ---
**Author:** ![bmosborne](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/forum.newyorkyimby.com/bmosborne/32/78906_2.png) [@bmosborne](https://forum.newyorkyimby.com/u/bmosborne)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2020, 10:18pm UTC](https://forum.newyorkyimby.com/t/chicago-james-r-thompson-center-308-ft-17-floors/17413/13 "2020-10-23T22:18:42Z")
I completely agree with you, which is why I said building this kind of skyscraper would change things for Chicago. ---
**Author:** ![Mackensen](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/forum.newyorkyimby.com/mackensen/32/138218_2.png) [@Mackensen](https://forum.newyorkyimby.com/u/Mackensen)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2020, 7:55pm UTC](https://forum.newyorkyimby.com/t/chicago-james-r-thompson-center-308-ft-17-floors/17413/14 "2020-10-29T19:55:58Z")
[![](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/uploads/yimby/original/3X/2/a/2aae1aadfe75938675cd9830cabc62bf194573f5.jpeg "Unbuilt Chicago in 3D") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4onrClBZjk) [![](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/uploads/yimby/original/3X/3/0/30cb3fbe5a5330aba71eb410e3aa543c0fe8f5db.jpeg "The Unbuilt Chicago Skyline") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fe2vfku1hdw) Unbuilt Chicago by @rgarri4 ![image](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/uploads/yimby/original/3X/d/2/d23e64c6c36740898c994a632b3e5cc66b790042.jpeg) 2500 feet tall > **[Chicago World Trade Center](https://mercuryrisingfanon.fandom.com/wiki/Chicago_World_Trade_Center)** > > The Chicago World Trade Center or CWTC is a complex of skyscrapers, located in Chicago, Illinois, at 300 N. LaSalle Street. Construction on the CWTC started in the cold morning of February 18, 2004, at 8:09 AM local time. It was completed on May 29,... ---
**Author:** ![Mackensen](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/forum.newyorkyimby.com/mackensen/32/138218_2.png) [@Mackensen](https://forum.newyorkyimby.com/u/Mackensen)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2020, 2:27pm UTC](https://forum.newyorkyimby.com/t/chicago-james-r-thompson-center-308-ft-17-floors/17413/15 "2020-12-05T14:27:34Z")
My Idea for a Single Tower or Twin Towers: ![image](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/uploads/yimby/original/3X/1/9/197c46d19c8e2cf65e46546a6666a770f14c534a.jpeg) ![image](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/uploads/yimby/original/3X/3/5/358f22df067f2c1437703a49ec4acc4d904ab291.jpeg) ![image](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/uploads/yimby/original/3X/c/a/ca997426b8747bfcde8ede73886da374f7f9cc28.jpeg) Single tower with and without a base ![image](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/uploads/yimby/original/3X/2/f/2f6946d318498fe956dbb597d8fb3ef445d23a7a.jpeg) Tall : 1650 FT Office Version of this idea. ---
**Author:** ![DeSelby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@DeSelby](https://forum.newyorkyimby.com/u/DeSelby)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2020, 7:25am UTC](https://forum.newyorkyimby.com/t/chicago-james-r-thompson-center-308-ft-17-floors/17413/16 "2020-12-07T07:25:06Z")
Despite all its faults, I like the Thompson Center. If the state does sell it, I hope they go with Helmut Jahn’s proposal to keep the famous atrium and build a 110 story addition to it. That way, the original building is largely preserved, and we still get a new supertall. > **[Jahn's Alternative to the Demolition of Its Thompson Center](https://www.architectmagazine.com/design/jahns-alternative-to-the-demolition-of-its-thompson-center_o)** > > After the Illinois government proposed a sale and demolition of the building, the original architect responded with a proposal to save it. ---
**Author:** ![bmosborne](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/forum.newyorkyimby.com/bmosborne/32/78906_2.png) [@bmosborne](https://forum.newyorkyimby.com/u/bmosborne)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2020, 2:17pm UTC](https://forum.newyorkyimby.com/t/chicago-james-r-thompson-center-308-ft-17-floors/17413/17 "2020-12-07T14:17:16Z")
I hope it’s a mega tall. Perfect spot for it. ---
**Author:** ![UnionMade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ed8c4c/32.png) [@UnionMade](https://forum.newyorkyimby.com/u/UnionMade)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2020, 7:34pm UTC](https://forum.newyorkyimby.com/t/chicago-james-r-thompson-center-308-ft-17-floors/17413/18 "2020-12-11T19:34:04Z")
Never going to happen in this Chicago. Too many parties have a say in what gets built and how it will look. The audacity of attempting to surpass Sears would be looked upon unfavorably and the hounds would come out to scale the height back to some existing reference point. Reilly will pander as usual after he “works with the developers to bring in realistic proposals.” His process is meeting with developers to force his demands onto them that cause long awaited revisions becuase he knows his ward and what the people want and what they don’t. He knows what good development is and what is not. He’s quite the expert in architecture, engineering and urban planning for a guy from Denver that worked as an executive for AT&T. ---
**Author:** ![Mackensen](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/forum.newyorkyimby.com/mackensen/32/138218_2.png) [@Mackensen](https://forum.newyorkyimby.com/u/Mackensen)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2020, 8:43pm UTC](https://forum.newyorkyimby.com/t/chicago-james-r-thompson-center-308-ft-17-floors/17413/19 "2020-12-12T20:43:36Z")
SHoPs could design a skyscraper for Chicago that would contain the old Thompson Center and not completely destroy it. Similar to a planned new building in Toronto: ![](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/uploads/yimby/original/3X/7/0/707e009442c8f75f288c24dec421f9da3c87bc0c.jpeg) Three six-story heritage buildings will form the base of a proposed mixed-use Toronto skyscraper that, when completed, will stand among the tallest buildings in the city. (Norm Li/Courtesy Dream Office REIT, Humbold Properties) ![](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/uploads/yimby/original/3X/6/9/69987339cde159cfe74c3d1201d47c35f41bda4c.jpeg) The atrium at 212 King Street West. (© SHoP Architects/Courtesy Dream Office REIT, Humbold Properties) > **[SHoP Architects unveils a mixed-use supertall tower in Toronto](https://www.archpaper.com/2020/12/shop-unveils-supertall-212-king-street-west-in-toronto/)** > > If approved, the SHoP-designed 212 King Street West would sit atop three historic Toronto buildings and reach over 1,000 feet tall. just a suggestion from me ---
**Author:** ![UnionMade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ed8c4c/32.png) [@UnionMade](https://forum.newyorkyimby.com/u/UnionMade)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2020, 11:29pm UTC](https://forum.newyorkyimby.com/t/chicago-james-r-thompson-center-308-ft-17-floors/17413/20 "2020-12-13T23:29:47Z")
SHoP and BIG are at the top of my wishlist for a signature Chicago tower. Jeannae Gang is the only heavily idealistic architect designing work here in that elite tier. David Childs’ original design for the Spire site was also world class on the highest level. Too bad Related was the developer as they are notoriously the worst of the huge-promise/under-deliver firms that we have and the redesigns were further testament. For Thompson Center to really come to fruition with a signature, trophy tower especially from a SHoP or equivalent it would probably have to be foreign billionaires that aren’t completely governed by pragmatism. [Next page](https://forum.newyorkyimby.com/t/chicago-james-r-thompson-center-308-ft-17-floors/17413.md?page=2)