Office owners across the country are adding various features to try to lure more people inside.

But one 17-story building in Chicago’s former meatpacking district is attracting some of the world’s best professional athletes,

A-list entertainers and two former U.S. presidents with a unique perk: its basketball court.

As they planned the building at 167 N. Green St. a few years ago, Chicago developers Shapack Partners and Focus, and investor Walton Street Capital,

decided to set aside the entire top floor for hotel-style amenities such as an outdoor terrace and flower garden, cafe, drawing and sitting rooms as well as a catering kitchen.

But the centerpiece is the glass-enclosed basketball court with sweeping views of the city’s skyline,

a building feature that unexpectedly has become a must-see practice venue for NBA teams in town to play the Chicago Bulls.

Teams including the NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers, Golden State Warriors, Milwaukee Bucks, Denver Nuggets and Portland Trail Blazers, and college basketball’s Duke Blue Devils, have held practices and shoot-around sessions in the office building 1½ miles east of the Bulls’ United Center arena.

No slam dunk at the time, the developers’ unique vision for the top floor has succeeded in luring NBA players such as Stephen Curry, Nikola Jokic and Giannis Antetokounmpo on nights and weekends to shoot hoops with their teams.

“Could we have predicted that the Lakers would play here, or that Steph Curry would be shooting 3-pointers like it’s us eating candy? Could we have predicted that? No,” said Jeff Shapack, founder and CEO of Shapack Partners. “Did we know that it would have a profound effect on Fulton Market that the space existed and that events could be held here? Yes.”

Area Transformation

The building was planned during a construction boom in the years leading up to the pandemic in the Fulton Market area just west of the Loop business district, a part of town that in recent years has emerged as the fastest-growing urban office market in the country. As meatpackers and food distributors have sold their properties and moved to other areas, taller structures such as offices, apartments and hotels have risen.

As those dramatic changes unfolded, the 167 N. Green developers opted to create the basketball court as well as The Mews — an open-air arcade through lower floors of the Gensler-designed building — to help boost the area’s reputation as a place to work, live, stay, shop, eat, drink and play. Or, as Shapack describes it, a “central social district.”

Ultimately, unused square footage approved under city zoning was shifted from The Mews into the nonrent-generating 17th floor.

That decision loomed even larger with the onset of the pandemic in early 2020, less than a year from the project’s completion as the speculative development was seeking tenants.

The community aspect of the basketball court, including leagues for tenants and the ability to use carpet tiles to convert the court into a town hall resonated with employers seeking to bring workers back together, Shapack said.

“There was a lot of debate” among the development team, Shapack said. “Everyone could appreciate that you could get the highest rent on this floor. We felt like by adding this, we could get more rent on every floor. We analyzed it a ton and decided this was the right thing to do. And, by the way, it paid off.”

Commercial Spark

The Green Street building was completed just over three years ago, and it gained some national attention in 2022 when a New Balance shoe commercial featuring Bulls player Zach LaVine was filmed on the court.

As word spread, NBA teams began contacting the building’s owners to use the space when the United Center court was unavailable leading into a game.

The Golden State Warriors’ vice president of team operations, Eric Housen, said he typically won’t take the team to practice at a facility he hasn’t already checked out in person. He made an exception after taking a virtual tour of 167 N. Green, and when a trusted friend in the industry — the Milwaukee Bucks’ equipment manager, Trevor Poulson — vouched for the court after taking his team there.

“The effect when you walk into the gym is nice,” Poulson said. “You can look out at the city and marvel at the architecture.”

Most important, he said, is a location easy to get to from the team’s hotel or the airport.

“It’s really convenient, and any time you can save with scheduling on the road helps the players,” Housen said. “Having a place that’s private and secure is also important.”

Some NBA requests have been denied because of events already scheduled on the 17th floor. The space’s uses have ranged from town hall talks by former U.S. presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama to weddings, as well as corporate and charitable events.

Separate from full NBA team practices, players such as many past and present Bulls, and Paolo Banchero of the Orlando Magic have hoisted shots in the space.

Musicians including Justin Bieber and Bad Bunny also have played on the court to unwind while in town for performances. Members of Drake’s entourage have hit the hardwood. Other musicians visiting Chicago for music festivals, such as Lollapalooza, have performed on the outdoor terrace.

Major real estate developers from around the country have asked to tour the court, which has two-story-high windows, Shapack said.

Shapack, an active developer in the neighborhood, said keeping lights on at the court in evenings brings further recognition to the area as cars pass by on the nearby Kennedy Expressway.

“At night, if you’re passing by on the highway, you look up and it’s sort of like the Batman beacon up in the sky identifying where Fulton Market is,” Shapack said.

The court no longer is a factor in leasing, because the building is full, Shapack said.

“Where it benefits is, there are tenants in the building who describe where they work and they say, ‘I’m in the building where the Lakers just played,’” Shapack said. “There’s definitely a coolness factor.”

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Source: Chicago Tribune