Final touches are being made to Chicago's corporate headquarters at the Aon Center. Pieces are coming together to prepare for a February move-in date for the new and final floors of the Office Renew project on 43 and 47.
Courtesy of JLL | Design by Gensler
JLL welcomed more than 400 employees to its new club space on Monday morning, serving snacks, beverages and a new blend of coffee courtesy of the Aon Center's two new baristas. The celebration kicked off Phase 3 of Project Renew for the firm's corporate headquarters.
Courtesy of JLL | Design by Gensler
JLL will welcome the opening of two new floors in Chicago's Aon Center on Monday, Sept. 12. Finishing touches are being made to prepare for the third phase of the headquarters redesign. These new floors will include unique collaboration spaces (above) to give JLL staff new ways to meet and interact.
Courtesy of JLL | Design by Gensler
Construction workers finalize preparation and equipment necessary to raise new stairs between floors 44 and 45 in Chicago's Aon Center. Where there was once a workforce separated by ceilings and inefficiency, now is slowly morphing into JLL's new "Club" space. The transition will offer a collaborative space that is at the heart of the project's design goals—open space for open interaction. The process will take one week to complete.
Courtesy of JLL | Design by Gensler
Employees celebrate their new space with breakfasts, giveaways and photo booths. The #OfficeRenew conversation also builds online, both internally on Yammer and externally across social networks. Regular tours of the new space excite employees slated to move in during later project phases.
Courtesy of JLL | Design by Gensler
The installation of dynamic office equipment, enabling technologies and floor-to-ceiling furnishings nears the final stages on the 46th and 48th floors of Aon Center. Anticipation builds as 500 employees begin preparations to move into the new space the week of March 21.
Courtesy of JLL | Design by Gensler
The first group of JLL employees are moved to the swing space to accommodate the beginning of construction. The decision is made to conduct this project as a three-phase project—vacating, building and then re-occupying two floors at a time.
Courtesy of JLL | Design by Gensler
Based on input from Gensler and employees, initial furniture options are presented for project team consideration. Options from three manufacturers are staged in a swing space studio for hands-on review by the project team. Change Ambassadors and Millennial Representatives are invited to provide feedback to support a final decision.
Courtesy of JLL | Design by Gensler
Millennial representatives across JLL business lines are selected and invited to participate in Project Renew development to ensure JLL’s workplace reinvention appeals to the workforce of tomorrow. The project team opens lines of communication with this key demographic intentionally and early in the process. It is established that our ultimate goal is to design and build space that allows our people—regardless of their demographic—to do their best work.
Courtesy of JLL | Design by Gensler
After a thorough vetting process, Clune Construction is hired as general contractor for Project ReNew. JLL selects Clune to spearhead the construction process after the contractor’s years of consistently superior results on both internal and client projects. Clune provides assistance on pricing and vetting planning concepts to ensure viability as envisioned by JLL and Gensler.
Courtesy of JLL | Design by Gensler
After a thorough vetting process, Gensler is chosen as the architect for the project. This is an important milestone as it brings on board an expert who can execute the JLL vision and begin to “translate” the data we are accumulating from Herman Miller, Interior Architects and the JLL Workplace Strategy Group into an actual plan for the space.
Courtesy of JLL | Design by Gensler
Project team employs pre-occupancy surveys and incorporates “real-time feedback” via employee touch points throughout the process to determine necessary changes and measure impact. JLL experts lay the foundation for the revitalization by engaging business leaders and employees across functions and generations and analyzing their space usage. This workplace strategy approach of linking data and employee insight with the firm’s business goals and culture will be a consistent part of the project.
The JLL Project Team is formed and establishes governance and reporting structure. At its helm: Chuck Kelly, head of Office Services; Adriana Calderon, Project Manager; and Ed Nolan, Workplace Strategy guru.
JLL senior leadership makes the decision for renewal at the Aon Center. Aon Center is selected because it most closely meets the objectives for the space. The client relationship and the economics of the deal are also key drivers. Following this decision, an initial Letter of Intent is developed.
JLL Strategic Consulting team conducts a comprehensive visioning session with the Occupancy Committee with the goal of “building agnostic vision.”
JLL leadership defines objectives for the space search and creates a framework for decision-making. The objectives are to find space that 1) facilitates a productive work environment for existing and future employees, 2) communicates JLL culture and values, 3) is flexible to meet the changing needs of our business over a long-term lease, 4) is environmentally sustainable and 5) is cost-effective. Decision-making criteria are created to prioritize financial implications, client relationships and the established objectives noted above.
JLL engages its own Tenant Representation leaders—a team led by managing directors Rob Schmidt and Jeff Liljeberg—to represent the company. With their eyes on 150,000 to 200,000 square feet of space and complex negotiations on the horizon, the team prepares to cast a wide net.
