{"id":18348,"date":"2018-09-27T16:05:08","date_gmt":"2018-09-27T13:05:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.commercialcafe.com\/blog\/?p=18348"},"modified":"2026-04-07T17:13:43","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T14:13:43","slug":"willis-tower-renovation-updates-2018","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.commercialcafe.com\/blog\/willis-tower-renovation-updates-2018\/","title":{"rendered":"Willis Tower Renovation Updates: 300K SF Dining, Retail, Entertainment Annex"},"content":{"rendered":"

The first major renovation of Willis Tower in 43 years is well underway. EQ Office<\/a> recently revealed its newest plans for the redesign of the iconic Chicago landmark. Catalog<\/strong> is the renovation centerpiece, a five-story dining, retail and immersive-entertainment hub that is poised to become the best of Downtown Chicago<\/a>\u2019s neighborhood experiences. According to EQ\u2019s announcement, the name is a tribute to the building\u2019s history as headquarters of Sears, Roebuck & Co., and a nod to the Sears catalog, the legendary retail disrupter of its age.<\/p>\n

The 300,000-square-foot space at the base of the building is designed by Gensler and is slated to open to the public in mid-2020. Catering to the more than 15,000 people who work in the building, as well as Chicago’s residents and visitors, the space will offer a careful selection of restaurants, entertainment options, retailers, and fitness boutiques.<\/p>\n

\"Catalog<\/a>

Catalog atrium space, Willis Tower (credit: \u00a9 EQ Office \/ Blackstone, courtesy of Gensler)<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

Urbanspace<\/strong> will occupy more than 14,000 square feet, anchoring the food and beverage offerings. The London-based company has a decades-long tradition of curating, building, and operating authentic public markets, which are welcoming to creative entrepreneurship and communities. Eldon Scott, President of Urbanspace, posits that this immersive public market will draw artisans, entrepreneurs, and chefs, allowing creativity and community to flourish.<\/p>\n

Other dining options will include Shake Shack, Sweetgreen, Luke\u2019s Lobster and Taylor Gourmet. A 55,000-square-foot space in the addition will be occupied by Convene<\/strong><\/a>, a New York<\/a>-based meeting and event space provider. The addition at the base of the tower will also create 150,000 square feet of new space for tenant use within the 110-story Chicago Loop office tower<\/a>, as well as a 30,000 square-foot deck and garden atop the annex.<\/p>\n

\"Willis<\/a>

Willis Tower, bird’s eye view rendering of the tower base renovation, on Wacker Dr. and Jackson Blvd. (credit: \u00a9 EQ Office \/ Blackstone, courtesy of Gensler)<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

Senior EQ Office VP David Moore stated that \u201cthe space recognizes the pace of change occurring in everyone\u2019s lives and our need to drive lifestyle and experience into the workday. With the addition of Catalog, we are furthering our mission to create a new Willis Tower as an urban destination that is the heart of Downtown, capturing the vibrancy of the city, and delivering the best experiences of life and work to residents and visitors of Chicago.\u201d<\/p>\n

Out with the Old, In with the New<\/h4>\n
\"Willis<\/a>

Willis Tower Globe structure and “Lunchbox” entrance on Wacker Dr. (image courtesy of Yardi Matrix)<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

The famous globe and \u201clunch box\u201d glass entrance pavilion on Wacker Dr., have been removed to make way for a new atrium. The 8-ton globe structure installed in 2010 has a new home<\/a> in suburban Elmhurst<\/a>, at the headquarters of Christopher Glass & Aluminum<\/a>. As for the Lunchbox, some 180 tons of glass and metal from the dismantled atrium will be recycled<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Blackstone\u2019s $668 million investment to reposition its most prized Chicago office asset also includes new tenant lounges, a new fitness center, faster new elevators, and maybe even improvements to the Skydeck. Otis Elevator reportedly<\/a><\/em> began a five-year overhaul of the building\u2019s 97 passenger elevator cars, 64 miles of cable, and all associated mechanical systems, in what is the first such update since the tower was completed in 1973.<\/p>\n

Revamping the Sky Deck observatory is also being discussed, with proposed plans including<\/a> an expansion to a second level, streamlining access by adding a new entrance and welcome center below ground, as well as activities such as rappelling down the side of the tower, and a \u201cledge walk\u201d that would allow visitors to promenade along an open-top glass ledge perched 1,300 feet up in the air.<\/p>\n

\"New<\/a>

New Willis Tower entrance, on Wacker Dr. (credit: \u00a9 EQ Office \/ Blackstone, courtesy of Gensler)<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The first major renovation of Willis Tower in 43 years is well underway. EQ Office recently revealed its newest plans for the redesign of the iconic Chicago landmark. Catalog is the renovation centerpiece, a five-story dining, retail and immersive-entertainment hub that is poised to become the best of Downtown Chicago\u2019s neighborhood experiences. According to EQ\u2019s…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":48,"featured_media":15511,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false},"categories":[37,39],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18348","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-commercial-real-estate-news","category-office","wpautop"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWillis Tower Renovation Updates: 300K SF Dining, Retail, Entertainment Annex - CommercialCafe<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Get the latest 2018 updates on the Willis Tower's massive renovation, including new amenities, retail additions, and the future of this Chicago icon.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commercialcafe.com\/blog\/willis-tower-renovation-updates-2018\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Willis Tower Renovation Updates: 300K SF Dining, Retail, Entertainment Annex\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"EQ Office unveils 300,000 square-foot dining, retail, entertainment annex at the base of Willis Tower - 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