The Chicago Architecture Centre and Chicago Architectural Club in Illinois have shortlisted three designs for the redevelopment of James R Thompson Center after hosting an open competition. The current building encompasses an area of over 1.2 million square feet. The aim of the competition is to find the possible adaptive reuse of the building.

The three shortlisted designs are :

1. Solomon Cordwell Buenz - Public School;
2. Perkins & Will - 17 story water park and hotel;
3. Eastman Lee Architects - Thermal encloser behind curtain walling.

The State of Illinois has scheduled a forum to discuss the proposed designs in November 2021 and decide the future of the building.