Preservationists fear two Illinois agencies will oppose having the James R. Thompson Center added to the National Register of Historic Places, which the groups see as a key to saving the Helmut Jahn-designed building in the Loop.
The state agencies are expected to move to block the designation Friday in a meeting of the Illinois Historic Sites Advisory Council, preservation groups said, citing a publicly posted document in which the agencies say they agree that the Thompson Center should not be considered historically significant enough to be preserved.
Those groups fear that opposition could move the 36-year-old government building, known for its soaring atrium, closer to the wrecking ball.
Friday’s meeting comes less than two months after Jahn’s death, and amid ongoing efforts by Gov. J.B. Pritzker to sell the glassy state office building at 100 W. Randolph St.
The advisory council’s recommendation can be used by the State Historic Preservation Office to determine whether the nomination should be forwarded to the National Park Service for consideration.
A coalition of groups including Landmarks Illinois, Preservation Chicago and the Chicago chapter of the American Institute of Architects says national register status could be one of the 17-story building’s best avenues for survival.
Adding the Thompson Center to the national register wouldn’t protect it from demolition, but it would make the building eligible for federal tax incentives that could cover as much as 20% of redevelopment costs. Historic tax credits would allow the building to be repurposed and potentially added on to with a taller tower on the southwest side of the 3-acre property.
Without that, potential buyers are more likely to consider demolishing the Thompson Center and replacing it with a skyscraper, according to preservationists.
“We want to give the building opportunity for reuse and redevelopment,” said Lisa DiChiera, director of advocacy at Landmarks Illinois. “If the state wants to sell the building, it’s counterintuitive to take away an inventory of developers who know how to use historic tax credits. Why object when it broadens the opportunity to find a buyer?”
The preservation coalition plans a rally outside the Thompson Center at 4 p.m. Wednesday.
The City Council in May approved zoning changes that could allow for one of Chicago’s tallest skyscrapers on the site.
The vote came after the German-born Jahn, who emerged as a Chicago-based “starchitect,” died earlier that month in a cycling accident in the western suburbs. Jahn’s death has added urgency to the effort to save his most controversial Chicago structure.
Earlier this month, the State Historic Preservation Office, which is part of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, signed a memorandum of agreement that the Thompson Center should not be considered a “historic resource.” The document also was signed by the Illinois Department of Central Management Services, the agency that looks to sell the Thompson Center.
The memorandum, posted to the Department of Natural Resources website, was signed June 4 by CMS Director Janel Forde and June 7 by Department of Natural Resources Director Colleen Callahan.
Their offices did not respond to requests for comment.
The document appears to have been created in anticipation of the building’s sale, and it states a sale and potential demolition “would not constitute an adverse effect on a historic resource protected under the Illinois State Agency Historic Resources Preservation Act.”
The memorandum shouldn’t have come until after a series of public hearings, said Ward Miller, executive director of Preservation Chicago.
“They’re putting the cart before the horse, and it’s very unfortunate that these efforts are undermining the building’s potential preservation and reuse,” Miller said.
The memorandum does not specifically address the national register process, but preservation groups said it signals that the state agencies will oppose efforts to save the Thompson Center.
If the building were to later be deemed historic, it still could be demolished after its owner takes steps such as documenting and photographing the Thompson Center’s architectural features, according to the memorandum.
The State Historic Preservation Office in 2009 said the building is eligible for the national register, according to Landmarks Illinois.
“The National Park Service applies long-standing criteria to evaluate a building’s historic and design significance,” Bonnie McDonald, president and CEO of Landmarks Illinois, said in a statement. “The criteria, and the reasons the Thompson Center was determined historic, remain the same as they were in 2009. Nothing has changed other than the state’s desire to sell the building, which should have no bearing in considering the building’s importance.”
The historic preservation office can follow the advisory council’s recommendation Friday, or it can ignore it. The state agencies’ opposition doesn’t necessarily mean the council will vote against national register consideration, DiChiera said.
If the state doesn’t back a nomination, preservation groups would consider sending their own nomination directly to the National Park Service, DiChiera said.
Meanwhile, offers to buy the Thompson Center are due Aug. 16. The state said it plans to pick a buyer by November.
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Thompson Center faces opposition to historic status - Chicago Tribune
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