Google Delays Thompson Center Opening to 2028
Google Delays Thompson Center Opening to 2028
Anonymous
Key Points
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The building originally opened in 1985 as the State of Illinois Center and was renamed in 1993 for James R. Thompson, Illinois’ longest-serving governor.
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Before Google’s renovation, the Thompson Center had fallen into disrepair, with workers and visitors reporting unreliable heating and cooling from its single-pane windows and odors from basement fast-food restaurants spreading through the atrium.
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Google’s plans were shaped by a preservation debate: admirers feared the company might compromise Helmut Jahn’s design, while some critics who disliked the building’s spaceship-like appearance had advocated demolishing it.
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Google executive Mike Miller said the company intends to create “a curated mix of quality food, distinctive retail, and space for seasonal events,” rather than a space used merely as a passage to the CTA.
Google is pushing back the opening of its renovated Chicago headquarters at the James R. Thompson Center to 2028, delaying the project by several years. The tech giant acquired the 1.2 million-square-foot building for $105 million in 2022 and has now released new renderings showing how it will transform Helmut Jahn's iconic 17-story atrium while preserving the architect's original vision RE Businessonline.
The redesigned space will feature cascading stairs, terraced seating, restaurants, and retail alongside the preserved black-and-white mosaic and glass atrium. A 30-foot glazed-terra-cotta sculpture by artist Sanford Biggers will anchor the public plaza. The atrium will remain open to the public and connected to the CTA, hosting cultural events and community programming Audacy.
A Building Caught Between Praise and Decay
The Thompson Center opened in 1985 as Illinois' State Center and was renamed in 1993 for former Governor James R. Thompson. But by the time Google arrived, the building had suffered years of neglect. Single-pane windows left workers and visitors cold or overheated. Basement fast-food restaurants sent odors drifting up through the atrium. The space had become a passage, not a destination Audacy.
Helmut Jahn's design sparked fierce debate among architects and preservationists. Some feared Google would gut the futuristic structure. Others wanted it demolished, calling the spaceship-like building an eyesore. Google's renovation now tries to honor Jahn's vision while fixing what went wrong RE Businessonline.
Transforming Transit Hub Into Cultural Destination
Google's design swaps rigid escalators for flowing cascading stairs and adds terraced seating throughout the atrium. A wider central opening floods the space with light. The company plans what executive Mike Miller called 'a curated mix of quality food, distinctive retail, and space for seasonal events' — not just a CTA tunnel Audacy.
Sanford Biggers' 30-foot sculpture will become the centerpiece of the public plaza. Additional artwork was developed in partnership with Chicago youth. The space will host community programs and cultural events, keeping the atrium as a genuine gathering place rather than mere circulation space RE Businessonline.
Google's Broader Chicago Commitment Beyond the Thompson Center
Google is investing beyond bricks and mortar. The company's philanthropic arm, Google.org, is providing $1 million to A Better Chicago to help reduce chronic absenteeism in Chicago Public Schools. The effort targets a persistent challenge: too many students missing too many school days RE Businessonline.
The renovated Thompson Center is expected to house about 2,000 Google employees plus other tenants when it opens in 2028. Separately, Google's proposed Natadola facility in Fiji will serve as a cable-landing and data-operations support center with a five-megawatt solar component — not the major data center some had speculated Audacy.
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