Is Walgreen Co. Eyeing Old Post Office For New HQ?
By Chuck Sudo in News on May 9, 2014 1:55PM
Could the long dormant old post office downtown become the new corporate headquarters for The Walgreen Co.? Walgreen is denying reports they’re looking at the mammoth building that crosses Congress Parkway as it feeds into the Eisenhower expressway as their new home.
Crain’s Chicago Business reported Thursday Walgreen has scouted several locations in the Loop for a possible move of its current headquarters in suburban Deerfield. Walgreen is the northern suburb’s largest employer, with 3,500 workers, and the move would be another feather in the Emanuel administration’s cap and continue an exodus of companies moving their corporate headquarters from the suburbs to Chicago. Motorola Mobility, Hillshire Brands Co. (formerly Sara Lee), United Continental Holdings Inc., AT&T and others have shifted their offices downtown.
Walgreen is also under pressure from stockholders to move its corporate headquarters to Europe. Walgreen spokespeople told Crain’s it was “not engaged with developers on any new locations for our corporate headquarters” but the Sun-Times reports reps from the company expressed interest in the old post office at the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity in January.
Emanuel spokeswoman Sarah Hamilton told the Sun-Times reports on Walgreen’s interest in the old post office were “very premature.”
The old main post office building has been vacant for years and has long been the center of development plans that have faded like farts in the wind. It's been placed on the auction block. It's been considered a location for a possible Chicago casino and a major commercial and residential development. A fire broke out on its roof in 2012 that started in the building's ventilation equipment. We find the building too beautiful and mammoth in scope to continue being abandoned and hope something happens with it soon.