THE LOOP — Good news for people still looking for a last-minute gift for Mothers’ Day: the James R. Thompson Center building in downtown Chicago is for sale! That’s right, Governor J.B. Pritzker has announced they will be taking bids on the 17-story former government building, so the race is on to buy Mom that gift all mothers want: municipal real estate.
Opened in 1985, the Thompson Center has long been the home of the Chicago branch of the Governor’s Office, the Board of Education, and one of the most confusing El stops in the city. Now that the government offices have moved to the old PepsiCo building in the West Loop, this 3-acre, poorly heated part of Chicago history is up for grabs, and what Mom wouldn’t want a glass dome that requires constant cleaning and temperature control?
Advertisement:
Kids looking to skip the traditional (and let’s be honest, underwhelming) flowers, candy or “visiting her in person” gifts they might have turned to in prior years can now place a bid on the Thompson Center through the Illinois Department of Central Management Services, first come, first served!
“We’re expecting bids from companies or investors looking to take on the property or find new tenants,” said Doug Callahan, 53, a senior official in the IDCMS. “Although yes, I guess it would make a good gift for a mother as well.”
You heard it, kids, this Helmut Jahn masterpiece is going to go fast, so maybe skip brunch, skip the jewelry, and get your Mom what she really wants: an entire block of downtown Chicago. Now that’s a way to say “thanks for being my Mom!”
