WEST LOOP — What's in the works for the former Harpo Studios site in the West Loop?
If new leaked renderings shared this week are to be believed, the largest studio building on the 3½-acre campus would be demolished.
If new leaked renderings are to be believed, the largest studio building on the 3½-acre Harpo Studios campus in the West Loop would be demolished. [Skyscraperpage.com]
Curbed Chicago reports that the conceptual renderings show a completely new development being built on the site, and that the new development would likely host commercial office space that could bring more tech companies to the neighborhood. On Randolph Street, the renderings show large retail or restaurant area being developed.
Developer Sterling Bay, which owns the site, did not respond to a request for comment Monday.
If new leaked renderings are to be believed, the portion of the Harpo Studios site that faces Randolph could be developed into new retail and restaurant space. [Skyscraperpage.com]
If new leaked renderings are to be believed, the largest studio building on the 3½-acre Harpo Studios campus in the West Loop would be demolished. [Skyscraperpage.com]
Harpo Studios announced in March that Oprah Winfrey would not renew the lease on the lot, meaning the longtime home of "The Oprah Winfrey Show" and many other TV shows would leave the site for good.
Harpo's move from Chicago to a new state-of-the-art studio in West Hollywood comes after the OWN Network moved to a new location on The Lot in California.
Oprah's — and Harpo's — move from Chicago began when Winfrey filmed her last episodes of "The Oprah Winfrey Show" in 2011. The set subsequently housed "The Rosie Show," hosted by Rosie O'Donnell, for less than a year.
In March 2014, Winfrey announced she had sold Harpo Studios to West Loop-based developer Sterling Bay for $32 million.
Oprah's Harpo Studios put the West Loop on the map, but Google could make the neighborhood a technology/foodie hub. [DNAinfo/Mark Konkol]
At the time of the sale, Ald. Walter Burnett Jr. (27th) said the studio helped put the once-gritty West Loop "on the map."
"Oprah helped define the neighborhood. She put it on the map. Sometimes when I go jogging, people ask me to stop to take a picture of them in front of the Harpo sign," said Burnett. "It's a safe and cool area, and she was an early pioneer. We're grateful to her."
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