Beat the newsmaster to the punch on this'un.
SourceBig Will?
The Sears Tower is being renamed after the international insurance broker that is becoming the newest tenant of the Western Hemisphere's tallest building.
The new name: Willis Tower.
Willis Group Holdings, based in London, didn't say when the name change would become effective, but said it got the naming rights as part of a deal to consolidate five area offices in the 110-floor tower that opened in 1974. That move will be completed by late summer.
But it's questionable whether anyone will call the 1,474-foot building--the city's most famous landmark--anything other than Sears Tower. Sears itself moved out completely in 1992 for Hoffman Estates and then sold its one-time headquarters to a real estate investment group in 2004. The Sears name, regarded as a major marketing tool to attract tenants, was retained by the new owners.
But another Chicago icon today endorsed the name change. "They own the building. They should name it, sure," said Mayor Richard M. Daley. "Sears moved out a long time ago."
The tower was the world's tallest building until 1996, when it was surpassed by the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
"Having our name associated with Chicago's most iconic structure underscores our commitment to this great city, and recognizes Chicago's importance as a major financial hub and international business center," said Joseph J. Plumeri, chairman and chief executive officer of Willis Group Holdings.
The company said it will move nearly 500 employees from three Chicago offices, Lombard and Oak Brook into multiple floors of the tower, signing a lease for more than 140,000 square feet at $14.50 a square foot. The building has a total of 4.5 million square feet of office space.
Willis said it wasn't paying anything extra for the right to put its name on the building.