Fifield Fixes Up Burnham Building, Then Makes Itself At Home

600 West Jackson ( Courtesy of Fifeld Companies)

Fifield Companies, the prolific buyer, builder, and seller of downtown properties has added a new skill to its repertoire: fixer-upper.

The real estate company recently completed a renovation of the 1912 brick building at 600 West Jackson Street in the West Loop, and changed the name to Burnham 600 in honor of architect extraordinaire Daniel Burnham, its designer.

Once Fifield finished with the project…  it moved right in, making Burnham 600 its new headquarters.

More in the press release below.

600 West Jackson ( Courtesy of Fifeld Companies)

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Fifield Cos. Completes Renovation of Burnham 600 Loft Office Building

Daniel Burnham-designed building at 600 W. Jackson Blvd. is nearly 90 percent leased, including Fifield Cos. new headquarters

CHICAGO — Fifield Cos., one of the country’s leading urban office and multifamily developers, today announced that it has completed a year-long renovation of Burnham 600, an eight-story, 106,000-square-foot loft office building located at 600 W. Jackson Blvd. in Chicago’s West Loop. The building was designed by famed Chicago architect Daniel Burnham in 1912.

“When we were looking for a new headquarters near the Loop, at the top of our list was a classic Chicago loft building with a rich history,” said Steve Fifield, chairman and CEO of Fifield Cos. “As one of the city’s first skyscrapers, and with its Daniel Burnham pedigree, Burnham 600 represented everything we love about Chicago architecture.

“However, to make Burnham 600 an ideal office location for today’s creative and technology-focused tenants, particularly those looking for a mix of innovative layouts with classic architectural features, we knew the building needed some modern improvements,” continued Fifield. “The great news is the building already had 12- to 15-foot ceilings, so the changes we wanted to make weren’t going to change the building’s original charming and historic character.”

Since purchasing the building in 2015, Fifield Cos. has extensively renovated the building’s lobby, hallways and elevators, added new signage and a staffed daytime security desk.

Fifield Cos. also made renovations to the building’s sixth floor, where the company occupies 6,500 square feet. Featuring a combination of open, private and flex office space, the firm’s headquarters boasts executive offices with glass fronts lining its perimeter while creative breakout areas are in the center.

The showpiece of the new Fifield office is its oversized kitchen island that is open to a “family room” where staff gather to review and spread out floor plans, enjoy Monday meals together and monthly “lunch and learns” featuring a guest speaker. The kitchen has even been designed with the same luxury countertop, cabinet and backsplash finishes as what Fifield Cos. offers in its newest Class A apartment towers.

“Fueled by the desires and needs of a workforce that is no longer working the typical nine-to-five day, today’s offices are increasingly blurring the lines in aesthetics between residential space and work space,” noted Fifield. “Given the nature of our business, it was a natural decision to bring in some of the same design elements we offer residents in our luxury rental buildings to our corporate team so they feel comfortable and at home. We even added a nap room, complete with cozy blankets for late nights at the office or when someone needs a little recharging during the day.”

In addition to Fifield Cos., current building tenants include: Assemble (a tech shared-office operator), Bravo Foods, Evan Law Group, Family Health Network, Gibraltar Capital Advisors, Mark IV Realty, OKW Architects, Reed Construction, Seneca Real Estate Advisors and Starwood Hotels.

“Growing demand from companies to be located downtown near the city’s expanding, skilled work force, and in proximity to robust public transportation, bike lanes and residential buildings makes Burnham 600 a premier office locale in the West Loop,” said Fifield. “As Chicago cultivates its tech and creative sectors, we are confident that these recent upgrades will allow the building to maintain its reputation as an important commercial hub that welcomes new generations of Chicago businesses and workers.”

Fifield has ample experience building, restoring and renovating downtown office buildings. A pioneer of office development in the West Loop area, Fifield Cos. has completed nine previous office projects comprising more than 5 million square feet of office space, including such headquarter buildings as 550 W. Washington (Zurich Financial), 555 W. Monroe (Pepsico) and 550 W Adams (USG, Humana). In 1994, Fifield Cos. successfully renovated the Civic Opera Building, which BOMA awarded Landmark Building of the Year in 1998.

from Chicago Architecture http://www.chicagoarchitecture.org/2016/08/10/fifield-fixes-up-burnham-building-then-makes-itself-at-home/