The giant fast-food company is reported to be in final negotiations to purchase all or part of a four-building complex on Randolph Street that was home to Harpo Studios, formerly owned by well-known television personality and producer Oprah Winfrey.
Winfrey sold the complex to Chicago developer Sterling Bay for $30.5 million in 2014, according to Crain’s Chicago Business magazine.
Harpo Studios moved to West Hollywood in 2015 after producing “The Oprah Winfrey” show and other television shows in Chicago for nearly three decades.
Sterling Bay plans to build an eight-story building on the site after the Harpo Studios buildings are demolished, the magazine said, that is expected to open sometime in 2018.
But information about how many of McDonald’s 2,000 employees in suburban Oak Park would be relocated to downtown was not available.
McDonald’s opened a 12,000-sq. ft. office building for digital employees in Chicago’s River North section last year, the magazine said.
The chain’s move into downtown Chicago was seen as consistent with CEO Steve Easterbrook’s strategy of updating the company’s image and offerings after years of decline.
Among the changes since Easterbrook took over the top spot at the world’s largest fast-food restaurant chain in 2015 have been changes in ingredients and preparation, as well as offering items from its popular breakfast menu all day.
Continuing the trend of major employers eyeing transit friendly inner city relocations-McDonalds next? June 2, 2016
That would be amazing if that happened June 2, 2016
