Chicago-based investment firm Morningstar announced Wednesday it will move its global headquarters into the James R. Thompson Center, the downtown landmark getting renovated by Google.
Morningstar’s decision gives another boost to the long-anticipated revival of the former state office building, where Google plans to locate thousands of employees by 2028.
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“It’s an iconic building and an iconic symbol of Chicago,” Morningstar CEO Kunal Kapoor said. “We are a homegrown company and what better way to announce a decision to keep growing in our city?”
The firm, which employs more than 1,500 people in the Chicago region, will move in late 2028 from 22 W. Washington St. and occupy 275,000 square feet in the Thompson Center, Kapoor added. Morningstar also plans to donate about $5 million to local nonprofits focused on helping Chicagoland residents enter new careers or improve financial literacy.
Kapoor said the building’s sleek, high-tech look, its open-office layout and the massive glass walls that flood the interior with sunlight will provide Morningstar workers with a great atmosphere. Sharing space with Google is also a plus, he said, as the internet giant typically sparks energy and new activity wherever it locates, including Fulton Market in the West Loop, where in 2015 it converted a century-old cold-storage building into a regional headquarters.
“We have a conviction that (Google) will be a great steward of the building,” Kapoor said. “This is a long-term commitment from Morningstar, and I think it’s a long-term commitment from Google as well.”
The Helmut Jahn-designed Thompson Center first opened in 1985 as an office building for state employees. Google announced in 2022 that it wanted to take over the property, once threatened with demolition, and transform it into a new regional headquarters. Reconstruction of the 1.2 million-square-foot structure began in 2024. Google originally planned to complete the work by 2026, but now says the new Thompson Center will open in 2028.
The 17-story atrium will be transformed into a comfortable public space open to Loop office workers, according to renderings released by Google. The old food court will be replaced by a terraced green space and a set of new cafes, restaurants and retail.
The downtown office market struggled for years with historically high vacancy rates. Conditions deteriorated further in 2025, especially in the Central Loop, which saw more firms leave for modern, Class A buildings to the west along the Chicago River or in Fulton Market. But the Central Loop’s vacancy rate was stable in this year’s second quarter, according to Transwestern, and the central business district as a whole showed signs of life. Tenants took an additional 250,000 square feet, and the overall vacancy rate saw a modest dip, the first decline in 26 quarters.
Loop property owners, restaurateurs and retailers have said the Thompson Center’s revival could spark additional interest in the Central Loop, bringing back foot traffic, attracting new businesses and helping fill in empty storefronts. Other redevelopment efforts could also get a jolt, including the city’s LaSalle Street Corridor Revitalization, a nearly $1 billion effort to convert obsolete downtown offices into residences and hotels.
“Google deserves a lot of the credit for the revival of the West Loop,” Kapoor said. “I think the (new) Thompson Center will also bring back energy to the LaSalle Street corridor.”
Robert Sevim, president, Chicago Region at Savills, said Morningstar’s decision shows a new “urban community” is being stitched together in the Central Loop, and will eventually draw in more firms, especially once the most desirable offices in the West Loop near the Metra trains are taken.
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“It’s an excellent piece of news and will have meaningful impact,” he said. “The beauty of Google, Morningstar and the Thompson Center is that the ripple effects will be real.”
City and state officials said they welcomed Morningstar’s decision.
“After more than 40 years in Chicago, Morningstar’s decision to relocate its global headquarters to the Thompson Center reaffirms its longstanding commitment to our city and its continued confidence in our central business district and the future of the LaSalle Street corridor,” said Mayor Brandon Johnson in a prepared statement. “Morningstar’s $5 million commitment to local nonprofits will also help Chicagoans build financial security and gain the skills to pursue good-paying careers, ensuring that the benefits of economic growth extend beyond downtown and into our neighborhoods.”