Buildings
Sullivan-Designed Department Store to Be Converted
(archrecord.construction.com - 09/27/2006)
By John
E. Czarnecki
Bon-Ton Stores, the department store
operator that owns Carson Pirie Scott, announced in late August
that Carson’s will vacate its flagship Chicago store
in the landmark building designed by Louis Sullivan on State
Street. The move, scheduled for March 2007, is blamed on increasing
operating costs and changing shopper habits.
Carson’s, originally named the
Schlesinger and Mayer Department Store, has been the only
tenant in the building, which is considered to be one of the
most important structures of early modern architecture. The
Sullivan design is noted for its modular construction, “Chicago
windows,” and cast-iron ornament; it was built between
1899 and 1904 and expanded by Daniel Burnham in 1905–1906
and Holabird & Root in 1960.
The building’s owner, Joseph Freed
and Associates, is planning to court new retail tenants for
the lower two floors and office uses above. “All of the
historic elements will be maintained, preserved, and utilized,
including stairwells as well as the columns and capitals,”
says Paul Fitzpatrick, managing director in the developer’s
Chicago office. “The limited number of entrances dictates
the redevelopment schemes. We're currently evaluating many
tenant options that include anywhere from two or three larger
stores to up to 15 smaller retail tenants on the first and
second floors.”
The Carson’s move is another
sign of the ever-changing character of State Street, where
the nearby Marshall Field’s flagship became a Macy’s
in early September. Once the thriving retail heart of the
Loop, State Street suffered as a forlorn pedestrian-only thoroughfare
beginning in the 1970s. It has experienced a renaissance in
the past decade thanks to an urban design plan by Skidmore,
Owings & Merrill and an infusion of new retailers.
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