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Report: Facebook, Google planning Chicago office expansions

Technology giants Facebook and Google are considering major expansions in Chicago, according to a Chicago Tribune report.

Facebook, headquartered in California, is negotiating to lease more than 200,000 square feet in a new office tower at 151 N. Franklin St. in the Loop, according to the report. The space would be large enough to accommodate more than 1,000 employees.

Google plans to add more than 100,000 square feet of office space in the city's Fulton Market district, where the company already has a large Midwest headquarters.

And several suburban leaders, as well as the city of Chicago, are attempting to lure Apple to build its recently announced campus here.

Schaumburg is definitely trying "to get on Apple's radar," Schaumburg Economic Development Manager Matt Frank has said.

The tech giant said it will spend $350 billion in development and create 20,000 U.S. jobs in the next five years.

The possible expansions come at a time when Amazon is searching for a home for its second headquarters. In the running for the new home for he corporate giant are 10 Illinois sites including two in the suburbs. In Schaumburg, the 322-acre former Motorola Solutions campus is one potential site for the retail behemoth. In Oak Brook, it's the more than 150-acre campus fast-food giant McDonald's is leaving for new digs in Chicago.

The suburbs have been trying to fill these campuses with large companies without luck and the campuses remain nearly vacant. The shift away from suburban mega-campuses began as companies downsized, stepped up telecommuting and moved as ways to cut costs and appeal to young workers, with many corporate giants relocating to Chicago.

Several of the suburban campuses, including the former AT&T in Hoffman Estates, have developers moving to create self-contained "cities" using the existing buildings and adding retail shops, homes and entertainment venues.

Technology giants Facebook and Google are considering major expansions in Chicago, according to a report. Associated Press
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