Morningstar eyes Thompson Center

Morningstar is in talks to move its Chicago headquarters to Google’s redeveloped Thompson Center in the Loop. (costar.com; chicagobusiness.com) CoStar reported Morningstar is discussing a lease for nearly 300,000 square feet on upper floors of the 17-story building at 100 West Randolph Street. Crain’s reported the talks on April 23 and described the space as Morningstar’s potential new headquarters. (costar.com; chicagobusiness.com) Morningstar’s current global headquarters is listed at 22 West Washington Street, a few blocks south of the Thompson Center. A move would keep the company in the central Loop while shifting it into one of downtown Chicago’s biggest office redevelopments. (morningstar.com; costar.com) The building was designed by Helmut Jahn and long served as an Illinois state office hub before Google bought it for a Chicago office conversion. The renovation is one of the city’s highest-profile bets on bringing more workers back into the Loop. (blockclubchicago.org; chicago.suntimes.com) Google and development partners kicked off the overhaul in May 2024, and the company said the project could house about 2,000 Google employees once complete. Block Club Chicago reported in March that Google was targeting a 2027 move-in and that the building would keep the Thompson Center name. (chicago.suntimes.com; blockclubchicago.org) A Morningstar lease would also mean Google is not taking the entire building for itself. The Real Deal, citing the same talks, said the deal would rank among Chicago’s largest office leases in recent years if it is completed. (therealdeal.com; costar.com) Neither report described a signed lease, and both framed the discussions as ongoing. Until Morningstar or Google confirms terms, the Thompson Center remains a potential address rather than a settled one. (chicagobusiness.com; costar.com)