ACHP, Illinois SHPO, GSA Sign Agreement to Preserve Historic Downtown Chicago Skyscrapers

View Chair Sara Bronin's Preservation Shorts video.

(WASHINGTON, D.C.)-Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP) Chair Sara C. Bronin and Illinois State Historic Preservation Officer Natalie Phelps Finnie this week signed a programmatic agreement with the General Services Administration (GSA) that will save two historic Chicago downtown Loop skyscrapers from demolition. This agreement paves the way for private parties to restore and use the Century and Consumers Buildings at 202 and 220 South State Street, respectively. The buildings have appeared on lists of "endangered places" published by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Landmarks Illinois, and Preservation Chicago.

The Consumers Building and the Century Building (built in 1913 and 1915, respectively) were designed in the Chicago School architectural style and are listed on the National Register of Historic Places as part of the Loop Retail Historic District. The buildings are historically significant and unique; their steel-frame construction represents a noteworthy architectural and engineering achievement. Their demolition would have dramatically impacted the visual character of State Street.

GSA acquired the Century and Consumers Buildings and several other properties in 2005 to provide a safety buffer for the adjacent Everett McKinley Dirksen Federal Courthouse. They have been vacant since then. A congressional authorization of funding to demolish the buildings triggered the historic preservation review process through Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA). Federal agencies conducting a Section 106 review must take into account the impact of their actions on historic properties and must consult with interested parties.

Through consultation on the Century and Consumers Buildings, numerous preservation organizations and members of the public strongly expressed their desire for preservation rather than demolition. Responding to this interest, in 2022, the ACHP took the relatively rare step of joining consultation and also encouraged GSA to identify alternatives to demolition that would enable long-term reuse of the buildings.

Earlier this month, GSA announced it would seek rehabilitation and adaptive reuse as the preferred alternative for the historic Century and Consumers Buildings.

"Saving the Century and Consumers Buildings from demolition was the right decision, because it unlocks the environmental benefits of reusing existing buildings while keeping Chicago-the city where the skyscraper was invented-economically and architecturally vibrant," Chair Bronin said. "I commend GSA leadership for conducting the Section 106 process in a manner that valued community input and for avoiding the potentially catastrophic precedent of needless destruction of buildings that were both savable and worth saving."

GSA will embark on a process to select a viable reuse of the Consumers and Century Buildings, and the rehabilitation will comply with Section 106 and follow the Secretary of the Interior's Rehabilitation Standards and Guidelines, to the extent possible. A planned outlease for the buildings to private parties will allow for lessee participation in the federal Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit program.

The programmatic agreement includes several stipulations to address adverse effects to the buildings as they are restored under the adaptive reuse alternative. They include the reuse of previously salvaged historic architectural components, including decorative horizontal portions of the fire escape, the original 50-foot flagpole, and portions of the salvaged terra cotta. The agreement also includes continued public participation in the process.