The red tower crane that had hovered over the James R. Thompson Center is gone, dismantled and hauled off over the weekend in a clear sign that exterior work is inching toward the finish line. With the crane out of the way, Randolph Street is open again, and the Loop landmark’s new glass skin is now largely revealed, signaling a shift from flashy street‑level spectacle to the quieter, inside‑only phase of a major office conversion.
Crews from Central Contractors Service rolled in, stripped off the counterweights, detached the boom, and lowered the crane sections into the adjacent lot, wrapping up disassembly by Sunday after a one‑week delay from the originally scheduled Feb. 6–8 takedown. With its heavy lifting officially over, the cleared space now makes room for interior trades to move in and get to work, according to reporting from Chicago YIMBY.
What It Means For Google And The Loop
Now that the boom is on the ground instead of above it, contractors can pivot from installing exterior glass to building out offices, kitchens, and amenity areas inside the Thompson Center. Clark Construction has served as the general contractor on the exterior overhaul, and the CTA has already signed off on moving the Clark/Lake station entrance as part of the larger redevelopment package. As reported by the Chicago Sun-Times, the effort is a key piece of Google’s plan to reestablish a bigger office footprint in the Loop.
Permits And Interior Work
The crane’s exit follows a major interior permit: in mid‑December, the city signed off on an $85 million permit covering interior alterations through the ninth floor, including a central kitchen, bike storage, a cafe and lab space. The permit names Skender as the contractor for the interior fit‑out and calls for tenant lobbies and open conference floors to be built out. The scope and timing of that work were detailed by Chicago YIMBY.
Other Cranes And What’s Next
City permitting files hint that the downtown skyline will not be crane‑free for long, with new tower‑crane activity tied to projects such as 566 W. Van Buren and a recently approved plan at 214 N. Morgan. Both developments remain in the permitting queue and are expected to shake up the downtown crane count as builders gear up this spring. Building Up Chicago has been tracking those filings along with the broader ebb and flow of cranes across the city.
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