Chicago & Midwest + Downtown + Office | December 1, 2020

The state of Illinois has executed a purchase and sale agreement with the buyer of the James R. Thompson Center in Chicago's Loop

Deadline for Thompson Center Sale Moved Back to 2022

The state of Illinois’ plan to find a buyer for the James R. Thompson Center in the Loop by year’s end has been upended by the pandemic, the Chicago Tribune reported. A little-noticed provision in legislation passed by the General Assembly in late spring pushed back the deadline for selling the 1.2-million-square-foot state office complex to April 2022.

Gov. JB Pritzker signed a measure in April 2019 authorizing the sale of the Thompson Center, touted as a redevelopment opportunity. State officials have estimated a sale could bring $300 million.

However, Real Capital Analytics’ Jim Costello expressed reservations about the complex’s marketability, due partly to investor concerns about property tax increases. “A complicated project with a lot of challenges, the only way I’m going to do it right now is at a really low price, because I’ve got to put a lot of money into it,” Costello told the Tribune.

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About Paul Bubny

Paul Bubny serves as Senior Content Director for Connect Commercial Real Estate, a role to which he brings 13-plus years’ experience covering the commercial real estate industry and 30-plus years in business-to-business journalism. In this capacity, he oversees daily operations while also reporting on both local/regional markets and national trends, covering individual transactions across all property types, as well as delving into broader subject matter. He produces 15-20 daily news stories per day and works with the Connect team and clients to develop longer-form content, ranging from Q&As to thought-leadership pieces. Prior to joining Connect, Paul was Managing Editor for both Real Estate Forum and GlobeSt.com at American Lawyer Media, where he oversaw operations at both publications while also producing daily news and feature-length articles. His tenure in B2B publishing stretches back into the print era, and he has served as Editor in Chief on four national trade publications. Since 1999, Paul has volunteered as the newsletter editor of passenger rail advocacy groups (one national, one local).

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