Fire pits and bocce courts: an early glimpse of Coyne College reimagined as offices

If marketing signage outside the former Coyne College campus in Chicago’s rapidly-developing Fulton Market District is accurate, it appears the plan to convert the property into new office space also includes outdoor tenant amenities. Two images posted at 330 N. Green show the area occupied by the building’s large porte-cochere converted into new space for employees to lounge, socialize, and engage in a little lawn bowling. Coyne’s distinctive roof lettering is retained as a “signage” placeholder, indicating a desire to keep the general look of the exterior intact regardless of its future tenant(s).

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The latest images come from property owner Sterling Bay—the powerhouse real estate developer that owns much of the neighborhood and is responsible for bringing transformative companies like Google and McDonalds to Chicago’s red-hot West Loop. The firm reportedly paid $25 million for the property in July after Coyne made the decision to relocate its facilities from Fulton Market to 1 N. State Street in the Loop.

Reuse of the existing 76,000-square-foot trade school isn’t only one piece of Sterling Bay’s plan for the site. The developer also plans a new nine-story, 400,000-square-foot building slated for Coyne’s parking lot. While such a development would require city zoning approval to move forward, Sterling Bay revealed in August that it had entered talks with a potential tenant large enough to jump start construction.

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• Office project planned for Coyne College’s former Fulton Market campus [Curbed Chicago]
• Previous Fulton Market coverage [Curbed Chicago]