urbanMSP

Today ConAgra foods from Omaha (a fortune 500 company) moved it's HQ to Chicago.

Fun fact: Omaha tore down a huge historic warehouse district to keep ConAgra there back in the late 80s. Great investment!

Warren Buffet must not have enough Con Agra stock to stop that!

Today ConAgra foods from Omaha (a fortune 500 company) moved it's HQ to Chicago.

Fun fact: Omaha tore down a huge historic warehouse district to keep ConAgra there back in the late 80s. Great investment!

Sacrifice your history for a company?

Today ConAgra foods from Omaha (a fortune 500 company) moved it's HQ to Chicago.

Fun fact: Omaha tore down a huge historic warehouse district to keep ConAgra there back in the late 80s. Great investment!

And what they replaced it with is an absolute embarrassment. Great legacy they're leaving Omaha.

Not sure if it was the Biz Journal or one of the Finance Commerce issues, but the owners of the Investor Building, part of the Baker block, are looking into doing some significant upgrades to keep the building competitive with other office space out there. They plan to add amenities, New 2 story lobby entrance at the 8th and Marquette.

They plan to reskin the building, But I'm not sure how much of a reskin it will be. They are talking glass, but will they keep the main limestone corners and just get rid of the Orange brick area from the 4th floor up. I could not make out if any of the other buildings will be updated as well, or just the Investors. I think it was the Saturday the 26th issue of FC where I saw the article. According to the article, all of the baker block buildings were built in the 1920's, with the exception of the 730 building which was the mid 60's. Were the 2 building that face Marquette updated from their original façade in the 50's or 60's?

Moderator, Might want to start a new thread for the Baker block reno as it will be happening when WF moves out.

Was this an earlier home for IDS before the the eponymous tower? This picture seems to suggest it:

^It was indeed.

God, it would be nice if they restore the exterior of the Roanoke while they're at it. I wonder if the original cornice still exists underneath the boxy metal one that was added.

I doubt it. They did a thorough modernization which included expansion.

Before:


After:

Thanks for the above post. Now things are making a lot more sense with other pics that I have found. Had problems with the Roanoke building, because I did not know about the tower's expansion. All in all the Roanoke looks fine. It is the Investor's and 730 that really need to have their curtain walls updated and made more energy efficient and better looking. Other than possible new windows and an upgrade to the Baker's Marquette lobby that building will stay the same due to its exterior architectural style. I'm sure all 4 building could use some upgrades in HVAC, plumbing, electrical, technology wiring, and possibly some walls taken out for a more efficient floor space for today's office users needs. This complex will never be class A , but it sure can become a class above a B if they do add some amenities, call it B+.

Hopefully they can maybe make better routing for the skyway thru the second floor of the complex.

PwC is relocating to Plaza VII, which will be renamed "PwC Tower" next summer: http://www.startribune.com/pricewaterho ... 332145722/

McGladrey Plaza's about to get a new name
http://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/b ... tower.html

"The downtown Minneapolis tower will be called RSM Plaza starting in mid-October to reflect Chicago-based tax and consulting firm McGladrey's own name change to RSM."

PwC is relocating to Plaza VII, which will be renamed "PwC Tower" next summer: http://www.startribune.com/pricewaterho ... 332145722/

http://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/b ... seven.html
Another article.

While it is nice that we are playing musical chair with office space to hopefully open larger blocks of space, I prefer to see more companies coming in from the Suburbs and especially from out of town.

Good thing they're not mutually exclusive! In fact, one may enable the other!

While it is nice that we are playing musical chair with office space to hopefully open larger blocks of space, I prefer to see more companies coming in from the Suburbs and especially from out of town.

Agreed! I'm really hoping that there's a major announcement sometime this winter for a project to start next year.

This is pure speculation but the Biz journal also has an article about how CH Robinson is building a new Chicago regional Hq in Chicago. The developer of that new building is Sterling Bay, owner of the Macy's office portion. I'm aware CH recently upgraded their HQ in Eden Prairie but maybe there is still some outlying offices.

The developer is Chicago-based property manager Sterling Bay, which owns the vacant 4.18-acre lot that was formerly home to the Gutmann Leather Co. tannery.
C.H. Robinson has a 15-year lease and expects to move into the building in late 2018.

“We chose this building because its location is convenient for our employees, many of whom take public transportation to work” C.H. Robinson Vice President Mike Ryan said in a news release. "It’s on a great piece of riverfront property and the built-to-suit aspect will enable us to design a custom space that our current and future employees will love."
The company says its Chicago workforce has doubled to nearly 2,000 employees over the past decade.

http://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/n ... go-hq.html

That's some interesting sleuthing.

Can we hope that CH Robinson, with Sterling Bay's help, will maybe move a few people into the old Macy's office space for their workers that want to be downtown and in the thick of things when they run out of room in EP.

Or they'll just move them to Chicago

Why would they do that acs? I can think of a number of reason why that would be a bad idea, including client base, employees, etc. At least give some reasoning behind your pessimism.

There wouldn't be nearly enough space for them to move to Chicago.