1K Fulton, the former Fulton Market Cold Storage Building, served as a freezer for produce from 1923 to the early 2000’s. It is now home to one of the most innovative projects in Chicago’s real estate history. It has been redeveloped from an industrial ice capsule to a tech center for innovation. This re-imagined 535,000 square-foot LEED Certified building is now home to Google’s Midwest Headquarters located in the Chicago West Loop. The building sits on the corner of Fulton and Morgan Street. This location is the hub of the Fulton Market District, known for bring the heart of Chicago’s meatpacking legacy and the city’s birth.
In 2012, Sterling Bay purchased the 10-story building with an extraordinary vision for the West Loop. They acquired the building for $12 million and pioneered transforming this former food storage, and most technologically advanced refrigeration systems of its time, to a building worthy of a Fortune 100 company, along with others. Through the redevelopment phases, Sterling Bay first had to thaw decades of ice buildup that amounted to feetthick ice caves between floorplates. From there, Sterling Bay introduced a six-story 155,000 square foot addition. This building not only houses Google’s Midwest Headquarters, it also is home to Swift & Son and Smack Shack. Google’s 650 employees moved into their new space in late 2015, and in July 2016, Sterling Bay sold the property to American Realty Advisors for $257 million. This transformation was the first of many for Sterling Bay The West Loop, once known as the most highlysegregated and crimeheavy areas in Chicago, is now known for the city’s most lively restaurant and bar scene. Sterling Bay’s vision for 1K Fulton is the most innovative project in the West Loop and the entire city.