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Construction permit issued for McDonald’s new West Loop headquarters

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Work can now start on the fast food giant’s 600,000-square-foot corporate HQ at 110 N. Carpenter Street

Perhaps the single most important and potentially transformative developments to hit Chicago’s West Loop in a number of years, McDonald’s new corporate campus is ready to break ground at the site of Oprah’s demolished Harpo Studios.

The nine-story, block-wide project from developer Sterling Bay and architect Gensler just received a permit to begin work on its foundation and two-level, 300-stall underground garage. As with many of Chicago’s larger developments, the issuance of a foundation permit allows work to begin while the remainder of the permitting is still under review.

The Micky D’s project quickly made its way through the city approval process after its first public unveiling in June. Meanwhile, Oprah’s old TV studios at Randolph and Carpenter were torn down to make way for the $250 million project.

McDonald’s has signed on to occupy the majority of the new building’s rentable space and will vacate its current campus in suburban Oak Brook in 2018. The move to Chicago proper is expected to draw a number of suppliers and other related businesses to the hot and rapidly-changing West Loop.