77 West Wacker in Chicago, Illinois

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77 West Wacker Drive, formerly known as the United Building, is a prominent office building in Chicago's Loop district. Completed in 1992, this towering structure reaches an impressive height of 668 feet with approximately 944,000 square feet of interior space spread across its 51 floors. The building was masterfully designed by renowned architect Ricardo Bofill. Initially named the RR Donnelley Building after the printing company that served as its primary tenant, it later became the corporate headquarters of United Airlines in 2007 following a deal that included acquiring naming rights to the building. This marked the world headquarters for Chicago-based United Airlines and its parent company, United Continental Holdings. Additionally, it housed the headquarters for Continental Airlines until November 30, 2011, when its certificate was merged with United. The building also features a newsletter called "FOCUS," published by Prime Group Realty Trust. By 1990, Keck, Mahin & Cate, a prominent Chicago-based law firm, was considering moving out of the Sears Tower and into a new development that would eventually become 77 West Wacker Drive. However, it was decided to move into 77 West Wacker instead. The Prime Group, developer of 77 West Wacker, finalized the project after Keck Mahin & Cate made this decision. In 1991, RR Donnelley leased approximately 215,000 square feet on floors nine through nineteen for its global headquarters, while Kemper Securities leased about 150,000 square feet. With these lease deals concluded, 77 West Wacker had roughly 86% of its tenant space occupied. Jerry C. Davis from the Chicago Sun-Times noted that the remaining space would be too small for some potential tenants. Davis also pointed out that the leases signed by RR Donnelley and Kemper significantly altered "the complexion of the downtown office market." Keck Mahin & Cate moved from the Sears Tower to 77 W. Wacker in mid-1992, but the firm suffered a series of practice group defections and questionable management decisions before ultimately ceasing operations in 1997. In 2004, RR Donnelley signed an intent letter to move out of 77 West Wacker Drive. During the same year, McGuireWoods extended its lease by eight years, changing the end date from December 31, 2010, to December 31, 2018. Additionally, McGuireWoods expanded its leased space, effective February 1, 2004. The company gained an extra 65,756 square feet in addition to its existing 67,819 square feet. As a result of the lease expansion by McGuireWoods, as of February 2004, 77 West Wacker was approximately 92.2% leased. In 2004, the firm Jones Day extended its lease for 138,764 square feet in 77 West Wacker Drive by fifteen years, with the end date changed from September 30, 2007 to September 30, 2022. In 2006, Microsoft extended the term of its lease and expanded its leased space to 12,391 square feet, occupying a total of 47,122 square feet. During the same year, Greenberg Traurig agreed to expand its lease by 22,565 square feet, totaling 100,975 square feet. This object is part of "Scan The World." Scan The World is a non-profit initiative introduced by MyMiniFactory, creating a digital archive of fully printable sculptures, artworks, and landmarks from around the globe for public access. Scan The World is an open-source community effort; if you have interesting items nearby and would like to contribute, email stw@myminifactory.com to find out how you can help. Scanned using photogrammetry and processed with Agisoft PhotoScan.