This is a profile of one of the 2015 ULI Global Awards for Excellence winners. The 2016 winners will be announced at the ULI Fall Meeting in San Francisco.
Developers: Walsh Higgins & Company (Phase I);
Health Care Service Corporation (Phase II)
Designer: Goettsch Partners
Size: 2.3 acres (0.9 ha)
A two-phased, vertically expanded office tower, 300 East Randolph lies at the north end of Grant Park in Chicago. The 57-story development sits prominently on a 2.3-acre (0.9 ha) site overlooking Michigan Avenue, Millennium Park, and Lake Michigan in the city’s East Loop district. The building primarily serves as the headquarters for Health Care Service Corporation (HCSC) and its Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois division.
In the mid-1990s, HCSC needed a facility that would consolidate operations while providing a plan for long-term growth—without relocating. The design team’s innovative solution envisioned a plan for future vertical expansion. The structure’s 33-story first phase was completed in 1997; more than a decade later, in 2010, the second phase was completed, adding 24 stories atop the original, fully occupied building. The Phase II expansion allows HCSC to grow as well as acquire other tenants.
