Chicago's Old Main Post Office, a building born in the 1930s that was built to process mail-order catalogues, is getting a new look after New York-based 601W Companies acquired the building a year and a half ago.
The building's owners are revealing some of the plans for the future of the historic Chicago building Wednesday afternoon at a press conference, and new renderings show what the space may look like.
Currently the largest redevelopment in the U.S. at 2.8 million square feet, the Post Office spans three city blocks and five acres. Construction began on the project last May, with an estimated development cost of more than $600 million.
Planned features for the building include a large-scale food market that will be open to the public; a roof with over three acres of green space, cafes, sports courts and a quarter mile running trail; shops; a fitness center; and lounge space. The design is being led by Gensler Chicago.
The grand plan for the Post Office comes at a time where the City of Chicago is aggressively pursuing Amazon's second North American Headquarters. The building has been floated as a possible location for Amazon's HQ2, as it's one of the few spaces in the city big enough to house Amazon's ambitious plans for its next headquarters. Amazon said it's looking to hold 50,000 employees in HQ2, and eventually take up over 8 million square feet of office space.
601W Companies has said it plans to pursue HQ2, according to the Tribune, and may turn to neighboring redevelopment, Union Station, to get the deal done, according to the Tribune.
Anticipated completion for the redevelopment is planned for early 2019, and future tenants can begin building out space in 2018. Take a look at the Post Office renderings below.
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Images: © 601w Companies | Gensler
