Chicago’s Block 37 Really Springs to Life

Development of Phase 1 Retail and Office Space is Nearing Completion

After lying fallow since 1989, this undeveloped block in Chicago’s Loop had begun showing promise of growing active in 2005—until the developer’s financial woes left much of it dormant once again. Since taking over as the new developer in 2007, Freed has revived many of the block’s building projects, and the nearly completed Phase 1 developments are bringing new life to the block bordered by State, Washington, Dearborn and Randolph streets.

By Pamela Dittmer McKuen

Block 37, formerly the last undeveloped site in Chicago’s Loop, has reached another milestone. This fall the 60-store retail enterprise, formally known as 108 N. State, is opening with a roster of high profile clients. An enclosed mall with five-story atrium, it is the second completed piece of the mixed-use project. The first, a 16-story office building, opened in June, 2008.

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It’s been a long time coming. Block 37 is one of the original 58 blocks platted on the 1830 survey, three years before the city was incorporated. It is bordered by State, Washington, Dearborn and Randolph streets. The State Street side fronts the former Marshall Field’s flagship department store, now Macy’s. In 1989 the entire block was cleared, except for an active electrical substation in the center of the Dearborn Street side, to make way for bigger dreams. But the demolition was premature. For more than a decade, the 2.7-acre site lay mostly idle. Several grand plans were announced with fanfare and then abandoned, mostly for financial reasons. Meanwhile, Block 37 served as an ice skating rink in winter and an outdoor art gallery in summer.

In 2005, the site was sold to Mills Corp., Chevy Chase, Md., as master developer. The first phase of the project consisted of three parts: office, retail and an underground railway superstation that would connect the Chicago Transit Authority’s Red and Blue train lines and add high-speed transportation and baggage check-in to O’Hare and Midway airports. A hotel or condominium was planned for the second phase.

Mills sold the office and residential development rights to Chicago’s Golub and Co. and kept the retail portion for itself. Construction began on the office and retail projects, with Chicago’s W.E. O’Neill as general contractor and Thornton Tomasetti Inc. as structural engineer. Then Mills fell into financial and legal troubles, prompting it to sell its Block 37 interests to Joseph Freed & Associates. A lawsuit on other matters transferred the residential building rights to Freed as well.

Construction of the retail and entertainment mall used “up-down” construction in which the basement was excavated as the building rose overhead. Trucks hauling the excavated earth were loaded in cycles that let them come and go with each change of traffic lights. (Photo courtesy of Gensler)

When Freed took over as master developer in the spring of 2007, Golub’s building was nearing completion. The retail center, not so much. Stepping into a work in progress was fun, interesting and challenging, says Freed President Larry Freed.

“While the Mills Corp. was a public company and, by nature, took a more transitional approach, Freed is a private company that values long-term project ownership,” he says. “Accordingly, after our initial review, we elected to make certain changes, including upgrading the finishes, as well as alterations to the atrium and to the internal sight lines.”

Freed also added a green roof, which architect Grant Uhlir, of Gensler‘s Chicago office had suggested in the first place, but which Mills had vetoed.

Earlier in the project, a tower crane and personnel lifts were used to construct the four-story section of Block 37’s new retail facility on the extremely tight site. (Photo courtesy of Gensler)

The Block 37 retail center spans the entire State Street side. It stands four stories above grade and circles a central atrium. Four underground levels include parking, train platforms, and a long-closed link to the city’s five-mile underground pedestrian walkway. The pedway is lined with shops, eateries and services. The center contains about 280,000 sq ft of retail and restaurant space and about 500,000 sq ft, total. Among the new tenants are clothier Bigsby & Kruthers, a flagship Puma, Anthropologie and Muvico Theaters.

Uhlir points out that the building’s glass curtain wall reflects some of the nearby architectural icons, such as the Chicago Theatre marquee and Marshall Field’s clock. The horizontally woven steel panels reference the Millennium Park amphitheater, which architect Frank Gehry crowned with metal curls.

For multiple reasons, the structural engineering was intensely complicated, says Joseph Burns, managing principal of Thornton Tomasetti.

The office building has one subterranean level and the retail center has four. In addition, the train tunnel bisects the block diagonally.

The office building followed the traditional construction method, with a concrete core rising several stories ahead of the steel floor framing. But the retail building took 50 ft of excavation.

A rendering shows what the new world-class retail facility on Chicago’s Block 37 will look like when it’s complete. (Courtesy of Joseph Freed & Associates LLC)

One big time-saver was the “up-down” construction method, which allows simultaneous building of substructure and superstructure. In up-down construction, the deep foundation elements go in first. Then steel can go up at the same time the excavation goes down—one level at a time.

“It’s like deep mining,” says Uhlir.

Thornton Tomasetti’s Burns explains that all that excavation called for serious reinforcement to keep the holes from caving in. Mostly that meant slurry walls, but a more costly secant pile wall was placed along the division between the office tower and the deep basement of the retail center.

“That’s where the subway is, so we needed something much stiffer there,” he says.

Working on one of the world’s busiest streets left little space for staging. Not only did building materials need to come in, but four stories of excavated earth also had to go out. To get rid of it, and quickly, the construction team devised a maneuver that coordinated with city traffic signals. Every 3.5 minutes, which is how often the lights changed, a trailer-truck pulled into place, was loaded, and took off. Then another one pulled in.

Working with a local developer was helpful, says Uhlir.

“Decisions were made quickly,” he says. “You weren’t waiting for a phone call or an overnight package.”

Golub & Co.’s 16-story office building stands tall on Block 37 in downtown Chicago. Completed in 2008, Golub’s building was the first in the block’s long-awaited redevelopment. (Photo courtesy of Golub & Co.)

“We are very excited to finish construction on Phase 1 of Block 37 and to be able to turn our attention to a new chapter in this project,” says Freed, who declined to discuss cost. “Block 37 will be a major source of new tax revenue to the city and has been the source of over 2,000 jobs during Phase 1 construction. We are proud to be the firm that has finally developed Block 37.”

Golub’s project, named 22 West Washington, is on the southwest corner of the block. Designed by Ralph Johnson of Chicago’s Perkins + Will, it is a 16-story glass-and-steel tower with a large video marquee over the entrance. The façade reflects another beloved Chicago icon, the Picasso sculpture, across the street. The building measures 440,000 sq ft and is about 90% leased. Anchor tenants are CBS Broadcasting Inc. and mutual fund ratings company Morningstar Inc.

“As a Chicago-based company for nearly 50 years, Golub is proud to have contributed to the new Block 37 and be a part of the future of downtown Chicago,” says Golub President and Chief Executive Officer Michael Newman.

Despite the monumental progress that has been made, a few challenges remain.

In September, the Lowes hotel chain withdrew its plans to build above the four-story base at the block’s northwest corner. The transit center also is on hold. CTA decided last year to seek a private-sector partner to develop and operate the express airport service before finalizing the build-out. The agency is working with city officials to develop the request for proposal. When the project was conceived in 2003, its cost was estimated at $213 million.

In June, 2007, Midwest Construction reported the estimated cost of the entire development as $450 million. Developer Joseph Freed & Associates LLC declines to comment about cost.