Across from Millennium Park, work continues to replace the Aon Center's outdated 1970s-era plaza with a more user-friendly outdoor space. The building's owners hope the $6.5 million makeover will help lure tenants back to their downtown offices at 200 E. Randolph Street as concerns about the pandemic gradually subside.
To make the sunken outdoor space more inviting and accessible, HGA Architects has redesigned the landscaping to gently slope down from Randolph as it leads to the main lobby of the 1,136-foot-tall office tower. The plan swaps out the oversized fountain that dominated the previous plaza for more usable green space, seating, fire pits, and an outdoor bar.
The sloping design of the new plaza replaces a steep, fortress-like dropoff that made the space appear less inviting and accessible.HGA Architects
"The plaza will become a welcoming space that extends the greenery of Millennium Park right up to Aon's front door," said Caroline Colnon, leasing director at the Telos Group LLC, in a news release earlier this year. "We're building a stunning new outdoor space that will help bring Aon Center employees back to their offices."
Demolition work began in December and the site is currently a blank slate devoid of landscaping. Construction on the new plaza is expected to finish by August or September, though that timeline is dependent on the weather, according to an update from the office of 42nd Ward Ald. Brendan Reilly.
Much of the plaza's previous layout was occupied by a large circular fountain at its center.Jay Koziarz/Urbanize Chicago
What's going on with the Aon Center's observation deck?
In 2018 the Aon Center's owners, 601W Companies, unveiled plans for an observation deck on the tower's 82nd and 83rd floors. The project will add an entrance pavilion (located just east of the renovated plaza) that leads to a new external elevator grafted onto the tower's northwest corner. There are also plans for a ticketed "thrill ride" that would dangle daring tourists over the edge of the roof in an enclosed gondola.
Construction on the $185 million observatory was supposed to begin in 2020, but slipped at least one year behind schedule due to the pandemic. Earlier this year, the Chicago Tribune reported that the company had hoped to start work on the observation deck in the second quarter of 2021 and open the attraction in 2023. It's unclear if that timeline remains intact.
Plans for the observatory include a so-called "Sky Summit" ride that would dangle an enclosed glass gondola off the skyscraper's roof. 601W Companies
