Could Walgreens Move To Chicago Jeopardize City's Amazon Chances?

CHICAGO (CBS)—The Deerfield-based corporate headquarters of Walgreens will relocate to new digs in  downtown Chicago next year, and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel welcomed the drug store giant to the city on Monday.

Walgreens' move to the Old Post Office building could mean Chicago is crossed off the list of cities being considered for the new Amazon headquarters, reports CBS 2's Derrick Blakley.

At a press conference Monday, Emanuel congratulated corporate executives on their new home in the nearly 3 million-square-foot building known as the "Old Post Office."

Approximately 1,800 employees will work in a leased 200,000-square-foot office space when opens next year. Of those employees, 1,300 are being moved from Deerfield.

The corporation's move to the city marks the largest number of corporate employees Walgreens has ever had in Chicago.

"Today we're bringing 1,300 new positions (to) Chicago to work alongside our presence in the North Shore to really create a modern Walgreens.

An eyesore to motorists on the Eisenhower Expressway, the Old Post Office building sat vacant for decades until it was sold to a private developer two years ago.

The massive riverfront building—one of Chicago's largest commercial vacancies—remained hollow, however, as the gigantic structure had yet to add new tenants until Walgreens' announcement last week.

City officials were vague when Blakley asked whether Walgreens' new lease meant Amazon had moved on and was considering other cities instead.

But developer Brian Whiting of Chicago-based real estate services firm The Telos Group was more forthcoming.

"We've been plowing forward with different tenants, so I think at this point—we're going a different direction," Whiting said. "We're not waiting for them, and we're on to the next and best thing."

When pressed about Chicago's chances to attract Amazon, Emanuel admitted the city presented the corporate giant with 10 possible sites in its proposal.

"I don't want to violate anything with Amazon," he said. "When they came they saw five sites and it's my understanding they like two sites."

Those two sites are in the South Loop near the Chicago River and between Chicago and Grand Avenues, also on the Chicago River.

Walgreens employees are expected to move to 433 W. Van Buren St. by next fall.

The company released renderings of the new office Monday, which show a sprawling open modern office space and a first-floor lobby.

Emanuel calls it a "smart decision by an innovative company" adding "it will contribute to our city's thriving tech sector."